The Fourth Galactic Power: Milky Way on Fire
by The Real BONK'er
Summary: (Sequel to the first Fourth Galactic Power) A year after the destruction of the Collector Base the Reapers arrive at the Milky Way. All races are trying to survive the pressure from their synthetic foes. Carvins, who joined the Council races just a year ago are now facing extinction once again. But what will it take for the Reapers to defeat a race that doesn't use the Mass Relays?
1. Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: So I have returned. With the sequel to the Fourth Galactic Power. Beggining the story was clearly the hardest part, but after that it should be going pretty well. In case you wonder, I will mostly focus on the Carvins and their interactions with other species in the early parts of the war. Then when the time comes adventures of Shepard and the Carvins will be merged. However I will still put some pieces of Shepard's story to keep you all informed about choices he makes. I also went away from the whole POV system, since it was quite hard to write in the first place. That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Carvistorn orbit, Seviros' flagship - Relentless**

Since Virox has returned the entire Carvin Empire has been put on a high alert. Other Carvins weren't as convinced about his "experiences", mostly because of the split personality. It made conversations difficult and annoying, but the High Generals, for some unknown to them reason, trusted him.

Seviros was looking at his home planet through the windows of the bridge. After the destruction of the Alpha Relay, it was clear that the time of war was close. Terminus Systems were in complete chaos after that incident, since most . That allowed the Carvins to quickly annex a few very valuable systems without any consequences.

When you looked at it, Terminus was actually helping the Carvins a lot. When the Citadel races have placed multiple embargos on the Carvin Empire, Terminus Systems, in their fierce defiance against the Council were more than happy to do whatever would make them angry.

He chuckled on the irony of this situation, but then turned serious and focused his thoughts on what was to come, not what already happened. Carvistorn's autumn has begun, but it would only be a matter of time before the extremely harash winter would come, due to the eliptic orbit of the planet. That would be extremely problematic for the Reaper ground forces and could turn the ride of the ground battle. From the information given by Commander Shepard, it seemed that the Reaper ground troops aren't exactly very durable and rely on overwhelming numbers, rather than equipment advantage. Carvins already fought a threat like that. They submitted to the enemy once. Never again.

Yet as much as he hated to admit it, Seviros knew that this war couldn't be won alone. All of the races would need to come together to defeat the Reapers if they were as strong as Commander Shepard was saying. Right now though every race was focusing on its own matters, and no one couldn't blame them. Carvins did too. Therefore if the war was going to begin anytime soon, most races would probably focus on defending their own borders until someone comes up with a plan.

High Generals concluded that if unity cannot be achieved now, at least preparations could give the galaxy the time to unite and counterattack. They reluctantly agreed to offer sending military advisors to the other major races of the Citadel space along with some pieces of technology that could boost their own systems.

Reaction of the particular races varied, but was overall unsurprising. Turians, who were now the biggest rivals of Carvins when it came to military power, dismissed the proposition as an attempt to infiltrate the Hierarchy in order to find any weaknesses they could exploit. They also questioned their ability to make any impactful changes to their current system and technology.

Salarian Union was highly interested in the exotic tech of the Carvins, as well as the rare materials absent in the areas accessable by the Mass Relays, but little beside that. It was clear that the froggies cared more about their stuff than what they had to say.

The Asary were the most balanced ones. At least they listened to everything Carvin ambassador had to say. Nobody could blame their Councilor when she was curious about this sudden change of relations towards the Citadel races. Given the reply and the offer, Asari Republics agreed on limited cooperation, which included some technological exchange, as well as some joined military excercises and counseling regarding the strategy, tactics and overall military management.

Finally there were the humans. They were the strangest. Councilor Udina immediately began barganing with the Carvin ambassador Zayan Te'Kraan to... modify the deal. The will to cooperate expressed by the Humans actually surprised the Carvins. Udina stated that they know how it is to be ignored and pushed away by the Council, although Seviros still thought that this was only a sweet talk to cover the fact that he only desired this deal to make his kind stronger. Nevertheless, apart from the already existing trade route connecting two civilizations, military advisors were sent to the Alliance to share knowledge and experience, as well as upgrades to the GARDIAN systems.

Interestingly, human Councilor was the only one of the bunch to show so explicitly the deep nature of his species: creativity, determination, and hunger for power. All these traits had their uses in certain situations, however as a separate species, Carvins knew that such species are likely to compete for influence, teritory and resources.

Seviros shook his head in exhaustion. He's been up for far too long, but there were so many things going on right now. And with all this movement of the fleets as well as thoughts in his head, he just couldn't fall asleep. Instead he focused on something that he felt moderately comfortable with. Fleets and starships.

The big shipyards of Carvistorn and Mantar were soon to finish three new dreadnoughts, as well as two carriers. Those were going to be seeing a lot of combat in the upcoming months, IF their construction will be finished before the Reapers get to them. But Carvin Empire needed the lighter units as well. There were only so many dreadnoughts and the Empire was big. Cruisers, frigates, corvettes and fighters were going to be a determinant factor in this war. Other shipyards were also working constantly to quickly build new ships.

The Battle of Qreten made Carvins realize something. While their rapid response flotillas were performing well in the field, Carvin Navy lacked something that other major powers did not: mobile spacecraft. Thanks to eezo cores, Citadel races could move their fighters through FTL and mass relays, while Carvins were still strongly relying on planetary fighter bases, orbital space stations and large carriers. Therefore, under some pressure, all Carvin ship designers, who weren't assigned to the Andromeda Initiative at the time, were instructed to design a smaller and more mobile spacecraft carrier, capable of rapidly transporting spacecraft throughout the Empire. From this idea, a light Trizer-class mini-carrier was born. These 300 meters long ships were capable of transporting 42 fighters/bombers (6 squadrons of 7 craft), were faster than the standard carriers, and possessed some AA weapon emplacements for defense, as well as an experimental reactor, capable of recharging 50% of the whole spacecraft force they stored at the time.

Fortunately, Carvins were also conducting various modernization programs to their forces, as well as some secret projects. New EMP missiles and torpedos for their fighters, bombers and corvettes were defianetely going to help fight the synthetic enemies. Secret projects, or rather a project, was another thing. The whole High General Council agreed on forming another branch of the already quite successful Project Executor. Its codename was "FLAX". High Generals HOPED to have at least 6 thousands of improved soldiers ready before the Reaper arrival.

Hope.

What an insignificant, yet powerful feeling. Existing because of inability to accept bitter truth, capable of driving organics forward and past their limits.

If the hope could be stored physically, then all races should've began stockpiling it long ago. They were going to need it soon. And a lot of it.

 **Carvin colony Qreten, civilian district, home of the Or'Zaal family**

It was only a few months since his return to the Carvin Empire and Virox already managed to find a family. Literally. After he was temporarily relieved from duty, he met one of the active duty soldiers, who he became friends with quickly. And because he didn't have much to do apart from telling everything he could about the Reapers, both of them got along pretty fast. Arill Or'Zall, his new friend actually invited him to his house on Carvistorn and Virox discovered that he wasn't living alone. It actually tirned out that he had a wife (or rather its Carvin counterpart) and two kids: a daughter and a son, born in this order. The former was 3 at the moment and the latter was 1.5, but due to the accelerated aging as well as faster learning, one seemed to behave like a teenager around their 17s and the other like a 12 year old.

Virox's playful (and a bit odd) personality seemed to appeal to the kids and after a few visits, he slowly became a good friend of the family. Calia Or'Zaal, the mother of the children, seemed to have mixed feelings about him. While he was a good friend of her 'husband' and kids, she felt like he wasn't completely fine in the head. Of course after a few visits the reason of such behaviour was revealed.

"When the rubble fell on me, I was knocked out at first." Virox was telling the story about the Collector Base to the kids. "Then I woke up. Couldn't see anything, but I felt weird too. I had flashbacks from various moments of my life, while I felt like if my mood was constantly changing from happy to angry. After some struggle I managed to get out of that pile of rubble, nearly suffocating in the process. And then... I saw dozens of Collectors."

"And what happened then?" Zia, the daughter of the Or'Zaal family asked.

"Well... I don't really remember that much." Virox admitted sheepishly. "Though my friends have told me that I went nuts with my weapon overcharge and killed 'em all. Or most of them, since they picked some kills too. After I calmed down, one of my friends told me I had piece of scrap stuck in my head. After they pulled it out later, it was this big." he activated his omni-tool. He then created an omni-gel 1:1 replica of the scrap piece. It was triangular, though had some dents around the edges and was roughly 40 centimeters in length.

"That's impossible!" Nalik, the younger brother shook his head in disbelief. "You couldn't have survived that! Nobody would!"

"Well, I guess me sitting here beside you proves you're wrong." Virox grinned and playfully punched the little Carvin.

"And suddenly your weird behaviour makes sense." their mother rolled her eyes. She was a field medic in the army and found it hard to believe at first. But then his behaviour suggested that he had his brain damaged somehow...

"Hey! Just because I'm over 400 years old doesn't mean I can't have a sense of humor!" Carvin snapped back with humor. (A/N: It was never said, but Virox was born right after the start of The Great Grox War. Calculating the years I realized that he was over 400) "Also, it's my defense mechanism against depression!"

All four knew to not pursue this topic. Virox told them enough for everyone to realize that he had various painful memories that he wished he didn't have. Despite his PTSD, he was still able to live... a moderately normal life. They admired him for that, and the kids, whose parents were in the military too, were only more determined to follow their parents' steps after meeting Virox.

Virox himself thought of this family like his own. He was already called 'uncle' by the two little Carvins, and Arill often reached to him for help, since he was a less experienced soldier. His wife was a bit colder towards him, but he didn't blame her. He realized long ago he had a skill of annoying the heck out of people. The kids though were another thing. Virox saw a lot of potential in them.

Zia was always more active than her female friends at school. She always stuck with the boys and her behaviour greatly resembled theirs. Picking up fights for money or beating up some douchebags, she was the first to be there. It was of no surprise that she wanted to become a Carvin Vanguard in the future. Her agressive fighting style she displayed multiple times was only confirming the potential she had for this kind of position.

Nalik on the other hand was the complete opposite. He was calm, careful, and most importantly - deadly smart. Teachers in his school on Qreten actually decided to move him a class higher, and with the accelerated aging, as well as incredibly quick learning, 1 year for Carvins was like 3 years for humans. Of course, such intelligence created dangers. Many other kids saw him as a nerd and a dangerous rival in school. His sister was trying to protect him every time she could, but she couldn't be there for him every time he got into trouble. But when his parents finally allowed him to buy an omni-tool, most of the bully problems vanished immediately. As a kid, he managed to implement the Overload to his omni tool, effectively keeping the bullies at bay. His dream was to become a combat engineer - a profession greately needed on the battlefield, yet lacked the candidates possessing the traits required for the task.

After some minor training sessions with Virox, they learned how to use pistols and found it quite fun. Virox himself was looking at them with pride... and saddness. These kids had dreams that they actually might fulfill, but a lot sooner than they expect, and in a more painful way. The Reapers were coming and Qreten was dangerously close to the borders. Even after its defences were reinforced after the Collector attack, he was afraid that this planet was going to be one of the first ones to fall. Their parents knew that too, which surprisingly made them attend the training sessions more frequently. They were afraid that some day they might not be there for them and wanted them to know how to survive.

"Wait! I just got a call from a friend." Virox said as his omni-tool began beeping. "Guess I'll tell you the end of the story later." he then turned towards Arill "Can I use your room for a while?"

"Sure, suit yourself. Just don't be late for dinner like the last time." he replied with a chuckle. He didn't mind Virox, as the latter never invaded his privacy, and if he did, it was helpful everytime. Well... most of the time.

"Thank you!" Virox darted out of the room to anwser the call.

 **Palaven, capital city, home of the Vakarian family**

After the Suicide Mission, Garrus felt like he needed to prepare his people for the worst. Giving the past experiences he knew that it wouldn't be easy. Being in the crew with Shepard helped greately, he just followed his example, though right now he began understanding how exhausting this could be. Which is why he was now on Palaven, in his family home.

It was thanks to his father that he actually managed to do something about the Reaper threat. If he didn't believe him in the first place, Garrus would feel even more frustrated. Now he needed to wait for the entire Hierarchy to realize.

Unfortunately treatment of his mother wasn't going better. He tried to do everything he could, but all of the best salarian medical centers were incredibly expensive. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save enough money to afford the treatment. The painful truth was, that he might not be able to raise funds anyway, since the Reapers were coming.

At the very least Garrus could be here with his family for a while... and call Virox from time to time. Comm buoys were working along the most of the Carvin space right now, so they could communicate. He did envy Virox a lot, since the Carvin Empire started to make some serious preparations as a whole. Turian Hierarchy on the other hand was doing only so much so that they won't fall behind the Carvins. From what his Carvin friend told him, they already were behind.

Solana was skeptical about this whole situation, but learned from experience that if their father sees the connection somewhere, there was something about it. After all he was a C-Sec investigator, one of the best ones. She didn't have time to bother with this entire situation though, because she was spending most of her time trying to somehow get the money for her mother's treatment off Palaven.

Garrus could feel the pain from her and tried everything he could to make her feel better, but at the same time he was in pain as well. He decided to call Virox. At least there was a chance of him lightening up his mood.

He went to his room, turned on his computer and began the call. It took a moment for the Carvin to anwser, but soon his 'face' showed up on the screen.

"Hey, Garrus. Sorry it took a while. I was just telling the kiddos about the Suicide Mission." he said in his (almost) always cheerful mood. "Can't take too long, but I can stay for a couple of minutes. So what's up?"

"Heh, I was actually hoping for you to tell me, but fine." Garrus chuckled lightly, though soon turned serious. "I won't lie to you. The Hierarchy still isn't doing anything about the Reapers. We're nothing close to prepared and I'm scared that if they strike, we won't hold for long."

"That bad?" Virox asked with pity in his voice. " We WILL need the Turian fleet when the Reapers arrive. ALL of us."

"No doubts to that." Turian nodded. "And how about your people."

He didn't reply for a while, as if he was thinking of an anwser. "Well... it's better than I hoped, but worse than I'd like. Our fleets are patrolling our borders and the enscription is high. But we both know it's not enough." then he paused, seemingly unsure if he should continue. "We're taking the kiddos to early specialized training. Zia will try to get an approve to become a Vanguard, and Nalik will pass the entry exam for the Engineers."

"You seem worried." Garrus noticed.

"Of course I am!" Virox let out in anger and leaned his head on his hand. "They are my first family I've had since..." he stuttered on that, but continued. "The point is: if they will be sent into the heat of battle when the Reapers arrive, they're most likely to die! And I can't let this happen."

"Believe me, I know."

There was a brief silence between these two.

"How's your mother?" Carvin finally asked.

"*sigh* I wish she was better, but everything we do just isn't enough and we don't have enough money to afford the off-planet treatment." Garrus said with saddness.

"You and your sis are still trying to raise money for the salarians..." Virox understood. He knew that the salarian doctors were the best out there and possibly the only hope remaining for Garrus' mother. He looked down for a moment. Then he turned on his omni-tool. "Here, take these."

Garrus' omni tool suddnely beeped and showed a transfer of 50000 credits to his account. That... was a lot.

"They will be more useful to you than for me." he added, but then he turned his head to the left. A voice was shouting something off the camera. "OK, I gotta go. Faster than I thought. Hope these credits help. See ya!"

And the call ended.

Garrus just sat on the chair, unable to process what happened. Virox just gave him 50000 credits to help his mother. Not even questioning where did he get this money from, but he just gave it to him... no regrets... nothing. He stood up and left the room. A small spark of hope was lit in his heart. He entered Solana's room, where she was browsing for additional jobs she could take to raise money.

"Sol?"

"Not now, Garrus." his sister was visibly irritated.

"I have good news." Garrus insisted. "You'll like them."

"If it's another news about how we're ready for the Reapers, then don't even bother." she grumbled. "I had enough of that for a while."

"A... friend of mine just decided to support us finantially." that caught Solana's attention.

"How much?"

"50000 credits."

Her hand stopped right above the button and Garrus knew that she was happy. This was the first actual good news regarding their mother for a while. Now there was a chance they will get her off Palaven before the Reapers arrive.

"Tell your friend..." she finally recovered from this sudden yet positive surprise. "Tell him or her, that we're all grateful."

"Will do." Garrus nodded with a smile. Now all they needed to do was to get the rest of the money needed and send their mother to the salarian doctors. There was still hope for her.

Hope...

 **Local Cluster, Sol System, Earth, Vancouver, Alliance Military HQ**

Being detained was making Shepard angry. Like VERY angry. Not about the fact that he was arrested. No. It was how this entire situation was handled. Just like he suspected, they grounded him in Vancouver, blocked all communication available to him and put him under observation, but... it felt like they did this just to reduce the tension. Although when it came to listening to him about the Reapers, it all suddenly felt very inconvenient.

The only good thing was the fact that the RD sector was still open to him, as well as the training grounds. Shepard decided that if he manifested the biotic abilities, he should make a use of them. So far he stayed away from the subject, but the sudden love for shotguns, as well as the badassery of the concept, made him reconsider the implantation (A/N: It's cannon that Shepard has biotic abilities no matter the class or origins). However due to his like of action and being in the heat of battle, he decided that Adept was out of the equation. Sentinel seemed unfit for him due to the lack of tech skills in general. Finally there was Vanguard - the most badass biotic "class" of them all. It was good that he already went through military training, leaving him with the biotics to cover.

It took a few weeks, but Shepard managed to gain a considerable amount of control over his biotics. His instructors were shocked by how fast he learned as well as by his initial scores on the training grounds. After a few months they were sure he was meeting the basic Alliance Vanguard criteria, but he, as an N7 wanted to be above that. Since nobody could transfer him to Rio, he spent most of his time training. In 2 weeks he managed to get to the top 20 of the leaderboard and was now 16th.

"Again!" Shepard shouted after he finished his training simulation, still not being able to improve.

"Commander Shepard, this is your fourth attempt to this course without any rest." the VI of the training course appeared on the nearby terminal. "It is recommended to cease the training sessions for some time in order to regenerate."

"I need to be ready." the N7 sighed as he lifted the training version of the M-23 Katana.

"Your score doesn't show any signs of improvement over the next sessions." the VI said. "In fact, your score overall seemed to have worsened by the average of 4,63 seconds over the course of all four sessions."

Shepard finally gave up. There was no point in arguing with a VI that had unlimited patience and access to body scans. After putting away his training gear, he headed towards the mess hall. After reaching the destination, it was clear that it was a lunch time. Almost all of the tables were taken and the talking of the soldiers kept filling the entire room with noise.

It took a while, but Shepard managed to find a free table on the far side of the room, near the windows. He looked at the soldiers who were eating, talking and laughing. No one showed any signs of worry or fear. Like if the Reapers didn't even exist for them (which was technically true). It was pissing him off. A lot.

'How can they be so calm?' he thought and the wave of helpless anger went through his head. He wanted to shout. To scream. To yell at them for being so ignorant. Yet he knew that this wouldn't change anything. It would only make them think he's insane.

Therefore instead of focusing on his inability to convince his people about the threat of the Reapers, Shepard came back to his recent training sessions. To be honest, he thought that biotics will come to him with more difficulty, but it felt... natural. His favourite combo was, unsurprisingly, Pull followed up by a quick biotic charge, and if he landed in a group of enemies, a ground slam with Nova for the final. Shockwave was particularly useful in tight corridors with a lot cover, but he didn't use it that often actually. And his favourite ammo was of course Incendiary Ammo, due to the versatility, and the fact that his enemies were usually dead 2 seconds after biotic charge, therefore the Cryo Ammo couldn't really shine that much.

Hell, he even learned to do biotic dashes to all four sides (like those from ME: Andromeda) and enhance his jumps using his biotics. A feat previously thought to be impossible for the begginers. Yet despite all these cool and powerful abilities, Shepard still felt that something was... not yet perfect in his combat style: his weapon. While shotguns were extremely powerful, and his powers allowed him to get close to the enemy incredibly fast, his aim wasn't perfect and the enemies weren't going to just stand there and wait to be shot. Every pull of the trigger could potentially cost Shepard his life, because all the shotguns he used so far had incredibly slow firing rate. His dream weapon was an automated shotgun with a moderate damage, but capable of surpressing multiple weaker enemies, or quickly wearing down some tough foes. There were some rumors about a new N7-series shotgun in development, but not much details were revealed yet.

"Is this place taken?" a male voice said from the side. Shepard looked away from the windows and towards the person speaking. It was James Vega. Assigned to guard him, the 'prisoner' of the Alliance. It was quickly established that he was a very big fan though and 'guarding' him wasn't exactly what it seemed to be.

"No, it's free." Shepard replied and gestured his hand on the seat.

"Thanks." James placed his food on the table and sat in front of him. "So... people are talking about you. And not only biotics, but normal grunts as well."

Shepard smiled weakly on that. He knew that the news about his suddenly revealed biotic talent did spread quickly.

"Personally, I'm not very convinced about the biotics and I find my muscles more... reliable." he said, but quickly added. "Not that I think your skills are bad."

"Well, I began to worry." Shepard replied with a fake seriousness. "But I know what you mean. Biotics can be a strong asset in combat, but every biotic shouldn't depend on them. He should be able to get by using his aim, physical strength and endurance."

"Damn straight!" Vega slammed his fist at the table with satisfaction.

They kept talking about biotics and guns until they realized that they were the only ones left in the mess hall.

"Wow, we must've talked for a looooong time, Commander. All other folks are gone." James noticed. "Must've already finished their lunch

"Either that or we just scared them away." Shepard joked, but realized what he called him. 'Commander' wasn't his title anymore, and if the Reapers arrive soon enough, it won't ever be. "I think I'll do a few more sessions today, then I'll spend the rest of the day boring myself to death. If there will be any news about this new shotgun, let me know."

"You got it." he saluted, which was completely unnecessary, and left. Shepard started to think about it, but the mess hall crew already began glaring at him with irritation. He shrugged then and headed back to the combat simulation room.

This was going to be a very good session. He could feel it. And hopefully he will be ready for combat as a Vanguard before the Reapers arrive.

Hopefully...

 **Horse Head Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station.**

Illusive Man was a man that disliked risky operations. He prefered to work from the shadows and interfere only if necessary. That's how his organization survived for so long. However time was running out for the galaxy and everyone in it. After everything that happened recently, it was clear that the Reapers were close to the Milky Way. And when they arrive, it is up to Cerberus to stop them from destroying the Humanity.

But other races, as well as the Alliance were all blinded, either by ignorance of the obvious threat, or by the desire to destroy the Reapers. They fail to see their true potential and unthinkable number of advantages that controlling the Reapers could bring.

The Illusive Man knew that he couldn't let the military ignorance stop the humanity from being the dominant race. A centuries-old maxim said that a wolf caught in a trap must chew off its own leg to survive. If humanity was to survive and gain from the threat of the Reapers, sacrificing some people in order to achieve that goal was a pretty fair tradeoff.

Despite all of that, he knew that his idea were in minority, but he already made some steps in order to set his plan in motion. A successful strike on the Shadow Broker's base caused the still inexperienced Doctor T'Soni to flee from Hagalaz. Now he didn't need to worry about the Broker's agents that much. They were going to be in chaos after that.

Loosing Shepard, the Normandy Sr-2 as well as the Enhanced Defense Intelligence were quite painful. The Illusive Man didn't expect anyone to unshackle it and allow it such high level of control over the ship, to the point that it could stop them from remaining the control. The data, resources and the crew were all lost after Shepard's... rather unfortunate cutting of ties. But that defeat only made them stronger. They're learned that all the new equipment and allies should be loyal, or else they can cost Cerberus a lot. The new AI, codenamed: Eva, was going to follow the fleeing Doctor T'Soni. Their paths were going to cross again, but she won't suspect anything. He'd make sure of that.

Commander Shepard, the most painful loss of them all, was now detained on Earth. This position was rather uncomfortable, because while their goals were different, Shepard was going to try to fight the Reapers and buy the galaxy some time. Time that Cerberus was going to use for researching a way to stop them. But in arrest he was useless to everyone. Though helping him to return to active duty would cost too much resources, and if someone would accidentally discover the Cerberus' involvment in this matter, they would most likely lock him up again.

But that wasn't important at the moment. Their priority was to find a way to stop the Reapers. And there was one place where they could find any lead on that. A place that led to humanity's ascention to the stars, yet now ignored, seemingly forgotten, with all its potential being wasted. The Prothean Archives on Mars. Project Eva was going to be crucial in gaining access to the data stored there.

It will take time, but Cerberus needs that data to save humanity. If it was to be used in a wrong way, the entire Human race would be doomed.

The plan was in motion. Now it will take some time to accomplish it. Time and a lot of research. There was no room for mistakes. Hopefully with any luck, they will manage to achieve their goals without sacrificing many people.

Hopefully.

 **A/N: So there is the first chapter. Took me longer than I'd like to write... well not that much. Only 5000 words. I'll try to keep the future chapters between 6000 and 9000 words. Other than that I will also start re-writting the first chapters of the original Fourth Galactic Power, since I know they're more shitty than an entire crap in a Vorcha colony XD. Leave a review and let me know how was the first chapter. I encourage constructive criticism. If you want to bitch, go somewhere else, or at least support it with some constructive arguments. All hate will be deleted. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	2. First strikes

**A/N: Hello guys 'n gals. It's me again... after a LOOOOOONG time. Thanks for reaching over 100 views in less than a week. I get that this is a new story and not all people from the old story got here yet, so that's a success for me. Now this is where the actual story begins. No more introductions 'n shit like this. We're going with the game's storyline, as well as that of the Carvins. I'm also planning to write some of the bits that weren't included in the game, but in my opinion deserve a bit more attention. For your information, the first few chapters are going to take a while to write, since I'm completely re-writting the old ones from the first FGP. I look at them and I see very shitty work that needs to be undone, so please, be patient. Also, this chapter should've been finished a long time ago, but I suck and spent most of my time writting Liara's lines, and I had exams to study for as well. Sorry again if this chapter isn't what you expected. I was focused on the exams too, so this chapter might not be one of my best ones. I promise tho, that the next one will have a CRAP TON of fighting.**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Guest: Thank you very much, mr Guest. I really feel that the first chapters are usually the hardest ones to write, especially those that don't have a direct support in the game. I hope you'll like this chapter as well.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Local Cluster, Sol System, Earth, Vancouver, Alliance Military HQ**

It was precisely a year, two months, one week, and four days since his arrest, and Shepard was still bound to the Alliance HQ in Vancouver. He was now resting after his recent biotic training sessions, and looking outside the window of his dorm. There was a small boy playing with a toy fighter in a tiny garden on top of a building. So innocent and happy.

Andy, Shepard's genetically modified dog, was walking around the room, while looking bored. Previously he was named Lil' Anderson, but after coming back to Earth, this name started to become more and more inconvenient. The dog didn't seem to mind the sudden name change, partially because he was already called 'Andy' for short, when aboard the Normandy. Now he started scratching his side, as the backpack shield generator tended to be uncomfortable for him at times.

As Shepard was watching the boy play, a quiet *beep* has reached his ears from behind, followed up by a quick hiss. He turned around to see James entering the room in his usual grey Alliance t-shirt.

"Commander?" he saluted shortly after walking in.

"You're not supposed to call me like that, James." Shepard said, a bit annoyed. It was clear that James did respect him a lot, but he was under arrest and relieved from duty. This whole situation just pissed him off in general.

"Not supposed to salut you either." he stood down. "We gotta go. The defense comittee wants to see you."

"Sounds important." Commander left the datapad he was holding and followed James. Andy quickly raised his head and quickly joined the pair of soldiers.

As they left the room, Shepard noticed dozens of people walking through the hallway. For the first time during his time of arrest, he could feel the tension in the air. He just wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"What's going on?" he asked Vega.

"Couldn't say. They just said they needed you. Now." James replied and Commander then noticed a familiar face in this whole crowd. It was walking towards him.

"Anderson."

"Admiral."

"You look good, Shepard. Maybe a little soft around the edges, despite all that training." Admiral said as they shook hands and continued to walk. "How are you holding up since being relieved from duty?"

"It's not so bad when you get used to the hot food and soft beds." Shepard replied, but then he felt that the tension in the air was too high to be coincidental.

"We'll get it sorted out." Anderson reassured him.

"What's going on? Why is everybody in such a hurry?" he finally decided to ask.

"Admirał Hackett is mobilizing the fleets." Admiral anwsered. "I guess the word has made it to the Alliance Command. Something big is headed our way."

Shepard stopped immediately, and Andy did the same. "The Reapers?"

"We don't know. Not for certain." Anderson said, but Shepard had a feeling that he knew.

"What else could it be?" he asked, with a bit of irritation.

"If I knew that." Anderson sighed.

Shepard was tired that every single person denied what he was saying. Even if Anderson did believe him, he didn't show it, which only irritated him more. "You know we're not ready if it's them. Not by a long shot."

"Tell that to the defense comittee." he anwsered, which only irritated him more.

"Unless we're planning to talk the Reapers to death, the comittee is a waste of time." Commander commented on that, not even hiding his anger.

"They're just scared. None of them have seen what you've seen." Anderson almost interrupted him. "You've faced down a Reaper. Hell you spoke to one... then blew the damn thing up!" It was true, though Shepard didn't want to appear like a hero of some sort. Anderson however continued. "You know how they harvest us. What they plan to do to us." he paused. "You know more about this enemy than anyone."

It was enough for Shepard. The anger that was gathering inside him during this year was clawing its way out of him. If he was so damn well informed, why did nobody listen to him?

"That why they grounded me? Took away my ship?" he let go some of the anger.

"You know that's not true." Anderson turned towards him and looked deep in his eyes. "When you blew up that batarian relay, hundreads of thousands of batarians died."

"It was that, or let the Reapers walk through our back door." Shepard snapped back.

"I know that, Shepard. And so does the comittee." Anderson said a bit quieter. "If it wasn't for that, you'd be court-martialed and left to rot in the brig."

"That and your good word?" the anger from Shepard's mind was still trying to find its way out, despite Commander's attempt to surpress it.

"Yeah, I trust you, Shepard. And so does the comittee." Admiral seemed to have calmed down.

Andy was looking at the conversation with his ears down. He could smell the sweat from his master and knew that there was some tension going on.

"I'm just a soldier, Anderson. I'm no politician. I hate them and you should know that." Shepard sighed. He was tired of this infuriating feeling that other people thought of him as some hero/super-human. This view was as much inaccurate as wrong. The only 'special' thing about him were his biotics, yet he still managed to get to this point without even developing them. It was his recent decision about using this talent that really opened the biotic possibilities to him.

"I don't need you to be either." Anderson stated bluntly. "I just need you to do whatever the hell it takes to help us stop the Reapers."

'Well, that's a plan I can get behind.' a thought went through Shepard's head.

All four (yes Andy counts too) walked through the door into what appeared to be a reception, that would lead to the meeting room of the comittee. An Alliance officer, as well as a male receptionist were waiting for them at the desk.

"They're expecting you, Admiral." the former said and they followed her towards the meeting room.

They then entered a waiting area with a lot of metal benches on the sides. Some soldiers were sitting, while others were talking while standing. They immediately made when the entire four of them entered.

"Good luck out there, Shepard." James said from behind. Shepard turned around and shook his hand, while Anderson had noticed someone in the crowd. That someone approached the Admiral as soon as they spotted them.

"Anderson." said the feminine voice. Admiral nodded, while the new arrival looked towards the Commander. "Shepard."

He turned around to stand face-to-face with his old friend. "Ashley?"

"Lieutenant-Commander, how'd it go in there?" Anderson asked.

"I can never tell with them. I'm just waiting for orders now." Ashley anwsered, though she too seemed to be annoyed with the comittee.

"Lieutenant-Commander?" Shepard inquired, not hiding surprise and happiness for Ashley's success.

"You hadn't heard." Admiral looked at him curiously.

"No. I'm a bit out of the loop these days." Commander admitted, with a tiny bit of irritation in his voice, though not directed towards Ashley nor Anderson.

Andy barked happily and started walking around Ashley's legs, while sniffing them curiously. She did seem to be a bit confused and sheepish at first, but tried to ignore the curious dog.

"Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to keep you out of the loop." she admitted.

"I'm sure you had your reasons." Shepard reassured her.

"Yeah, I suppose I did. Still... it's good to see you." she said. However, before the conversation could even properly begin, the Alliance officer from the reception approached them again.

"Admiral." her voice was urgent, indicating that the comittee was getting impatient.

"Come on." Anderson said and with Shepard they both entered the meeting room.

The room itself was huge. Both sides were taken by desks and screens, probably to provide the council (not THE Council) with data in a few moments. At the very front there was a huge window, and a few meters in front of it there was the desk for the comittee, which was placed on some sort of pedestal.

"Admiral Anderson. Shepard." one of the councilors spoke, while distinctly stressing Commander's surname, without the rank.

"What's the situation?" Shepard ignored it and cut straight to the case.

"We were hoping you would tell us." the bald councilor said.

One of the Alliance officers approached the Commander and gave him a datapad. It looked like some kind of reports. Most of them regarding disruptions in communication, vanishing patrols, and whole colonies falling silent.

"The reports coming are unlike anything we've seen." the female councilor with grey hair. "Whole colonies have gone dark. We've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay."

"Whatever this is... it's incomprehensibly powerful." her bald colleague added.

Shepard sighed mentally. All this time he was warning them about the Reapers. All this time trying to convince them about their existence. About the threat they posed. And now, when they were almost at their doorstep, they still refused to believe it.

"You brought me here to confirm what you already know..." he started, with his voice cold as Pluto's surface. "The Reapers are here."

There was a brief wave of unrest between the councilors, as well as the entire Alliance staff in the room. Some began whispering to eachother, while others were shaking their heads in disbelief. Only some actually showed some signs of fear.

"Then... how do we stop them?" the female councilor asked, her voice stuttering a bit.

Shepard's anger was now at the boiling point. Now, when they finally did believe him, they try to deny any responsibility and throw the burden of leading the humanity on him. A simple soldier, that had no idea how to lead an entire military in a full scale war.

"Stop them!? This isn't about strategy or tactics! This is about survival!" he stated. "The Reapers are more advanced than we are. More powerful. More intelligent. They don't fear us. And they'll never take pity on us."

"But... there must be some way." she tried to sound calm, but the panic in her voice was now clearly visible.

Denial and isolation. The first stage of grief. They refused to admit that this was true. That the cycle has begun again. They placed the burden of choice upon him, in attempt to cut themselves away from the responsibility.

"I'm no tactician. I don't know how to lead an army, let alone wage a galactic war." Shepard started. "But what I do know is that if we want to have any chance of surviving this, we must stand together. All races, united against the Reapers."

"That's it? That's our plan?" the bald councilor asked in disbelief.

But before anyone could add anything, the female Alliance officer that brought them here in the first place, spoke.

"Admiral, we've lost contact with Luna Base."

"The Moon? They couldn't be that close already." Anderson shook his head in shock.

"How'd they get past our defenses?" the female councilor half-whispered.

Shepard felt like if someone stabbed in the back with a knife made of ice. The Kar'shan has fallen only 1 and a half week ago. Was it possible for the Reapers to get there this fast?

"Sir, UK headquarters has a visual." the officer added and the screen in front of the door they've entered through started to flicker. The image was static for a few seconds, but soon came to life as an actual video feed.

It showed a british soldier screaming something to the camera, however through the static and noise, nobody could understand him. Something was burning behind him, but before anyone could take a closer look, there was a very loud noise and something seemed to have exploded behind the soldier. Then the feed was cut off. Next the screen has changed, revealing news video feeds from various countries, that showed the Reaper ships which already made it to the surface.

"Why haven't we heard from Admiral Hackett?" Anderson asked himself out loud. Shepard was asking himself the same question. If the Reapers were coming through all important Mass Relays that led to Earth, they must've either bypassed the fleets, or...

'No, they couldn't. Not that fast. We would've got a message.' he tried to convince himself.

"What do we do?" the bald councilor spoke, with his voice clearly showing signs of panic.

Shepard closed his eyes. It didn't matter if the fleets were completely destroyed or not. Now what mattered was to get the Earth some time and evacuate as many people as possible. He turned towards the committee and looked at them with no bit of fear or hesitation.

"The only thing we can: We fight... or we die."

All three councilors looked down, still refusing to admit the horrible truth that was right at their doorstep.

Suddenly Andy looked around, dropped his ears and whined in fear. Shepard looked at him and figured that something was up.

But then a loud rumble was heard from above. All people in the room looked up, indicating that everyone heard it. The committee members turned towards the large window, behind which some red lightnings could be seen in the sky.

"Oh my god..." the female councilor gasped in disbelief.

Then an enormous, dark object has emerged from the clouds. A Reaper.

It charged up its main weapon and fired at the nearest skyscrapers, but Shepard saw it heading towards them. He managed to yell "Move!" before the beam suddenly reached them and a giant explosions shook the entire room.

All of the people inside were blasted away by the beam, and the councilors' desk was sent flying towards them. It flew just a few meters above Shepard's head, before hitting the entrance, creating an explosion right in front of him. He was thrown at the wall like a rag doll, which dazed him a bit.

Before he opened his eyes, he felt something cold and wet on his face. It was Andy, who was sniffing his face, with his ears down in fear.

"Shepard!" Anderson shouted. He ran towards him. "Shepard. Come on get up." then he handed him a Predator pistol. "Here, take this. We've gotta get moving."

While he tried to raise someone on his communicator, Shepard and Andy approached the scorched bodies of the officers and councilors. The dog started smelling them, but soon looked at the Commander with sad eyes.

"I can't raise the Normandy. You'll have to contact them. We'll meet you at the landing zone. Anderson out." Admiral finished and all three of them walked through the broken window.

Shepard knew that this sight was going to be stuck in his head till the end of his life. He was looking at the extinction of his kind.

It had to be stopped.

And he'd be damned if he doesn't find a way to do it.

 **Local Cluster, Sol System, Mars, Prothean Archives**

Liara was tired. She finally woke up from her 6 hour sleep after 30 hours of work. Since Admiral Hackett allowed her to study the Prothean archives on Mars, she was constantly going through the newly discovered information. These archive were a goldmine of information and she was surprised that Alliance discovered only so little. Then again, they didn't have the hundreads of years of expertise regarding the Prothean artifacts. Or maybe it was the fault of the archives?

When Liara came to Mars, she recieved mixed expressions of the scientists stationed there. Some of them who didn't recognize her, were glaring at her every time she passed through the hallway. They probably weren't very pleased by the fact that an alien was on a human research outpost AND had access to the all information, didn't have any restrictions regarding her own research, and sometimes she was even bossing them around.

Others, mainly the older scientists, who recognized her name from some of her work on the Protheans, admired her and often volounteered to help her with her work. Liara was grateful, but most of the time she worked alone, because the Alliance scientists lacked experience she had and often found themselves just getting in her way. They still helped her catalogue the data.

The last group was the one that didn't bother much with Liara's presence in the Archives. They either ignored her, or treated her like a scientist from a different section, meaning that they didn't care about her problems. Surprisingly those were the ones that Liara appreciated the most, though the helpers were a close second. What was most important was the fact that they didn't distract her, allowing her to focus on the research she was conducting, without worrying that they would get in her way.

The most recent discoveries have caused some commotion in the Archives. While digging deeper into the encrypted information of the Archives, Liara and the Alliance scientists have stumbled upon a set of information. Not everything could be translated just yet, as the files were heavily encrypted and difficult to translate, but it was certain that the data was regarding the (not so) mysterious downfall of the Prothean Empire. Added to that, Liara managed to find another set of files, incredibly massive and encrypted so hard, that the conventional decryption could take months if not years.

Liara sighed and slowly got up from bed. She really should've slept for longer, but her instincts told her otherwise. After taking a cold shower, she dressed herself up and headed straight to the labs. She met a few familiar Alliance scientists by the way and said 'hi', but didn't bother much. Unsurprisingly, there were only a few people in the archives themselves. Some of them were just going over the already translated data, while others seemed to wander around without purpose.

So far, the results of her research in the Archives have disappointed Liara. Not that there was too little data. Quite opposite. The Prothean Archives on Mars were a goldmine for every experienced Prothean researcher. What was the most frustrating was the fact that almost no data mentioned anything about the Reapers, or how to fight them. Liara tried her best to see the connection between the transcrypts and the destructive army of AI's. It made her feel helpless. At least that new set of files could tell them something.

Liara reached the console that contained the newly acquired set of files. Only a few scientists knew about the fact that she possessed the encryption codes for more 'protected' files (A/N: read Mass Effect Homeworlds Issue 4 to know what I'm talking/writting about). They led them to the intresting discovers about the Protheans studying early Humans, but there was more to that. If Liara could use these codes to access the encrypted files, then... well she hoped that at least some of them could help them fight the Reapers. She opened up the console and searched for the files.

It didn't take her long enough and soon the big package of files was ready to open. Liara changed the set of the console to mimic the software used by the Protheans, or at least try to. It was a standard procedure in trying to open some Prothean data packages, as most of the files were coded in a different way than these of the current species. Console took a while to switch to the "Prothean mode" and the files were ready to open. Liara turned on her omni-tool and uploaded the encryption codes. Now it was the moment of truth...

The codes were accepted and the decryption began.

10%

Liara really hoped there was something in these files that could help them fight the Reapers...

37%

A list of weaknesses...

53%

Or ways to defend from their attacks, both conventional and mental...

71%

Perhaps something that could help them predict their movements...

99%

Something that could just help them-

Liara gasped in shock as a giant hologram of some sort of device showed up on the console. The encrypted files contained overwhelming amounts of data on it, so much that Liara couldn't process it at first. But one thing was certain: the files and the device were directly connected to the Reapers. She noticed some references as she was trying to concentrate on the data flowing through the console. Then one line in particular caught her attention. "This project is the only hope of the Prothean Empire and it shall grant it victory against the Reapers or it will be our demise." She needed to pass this information to Admiral Hackett. Right now.

Without further hesitation, she closed the console and locked it down, just in case someone would do something to the data. Then she headed to the tramway, causing some of the scientists to jump. Finally a lead they could use.

Liara managed to get to the tramway just a few seconds before the tram's doors closed, earning even more surprised looks. In the tram itself there were three people besides her. There was Adam Ryan, who was one of Liara's assistants in digging through the archives, Linda Jenkins (A/N: no, she is not related to Jenkins from the ME1. Just the same surname), the head of the translation department, and finally Doctor Eva Core, who was supposed to be conducting some different research for the heads of the Alliance. That's what everyone was told anyway.

"Doctor T'Soni, you seem to be in a hurry." Ryan said with a bit of humor. "Have you found anything interesting?"

"Yes actually. I have managed to decrypt the newest data package thanks to some of the resources I found on my previous researches." Liara replied a bit sheepishly, as she realized that she was indeed a bit hyperactive at the moment. The moment she said that Doctor Eva seemed to have flinched a bit, but didn't say anything. Or maybe it was her imagination? Instead Doctor Jenkins spoke.

"I hope there is something for my department too. I don't want my guys to just sit around and let their skills be wasted."

"I'm sure we'll find something." Liara smiled as she felt she was slowly beginning to understand how Human sense of humor was working. "For now though I'll contact Admiral Hackett that we might've found something big. He'd probably like to know."

The tram has stopped at the station and as soon as the door opened, Liara headed towards the Comm Center. She had to pass the security checkpoint first, but that wasn't going to be the problem. She had the permission already.

"Hello, Doctor T'Soni." the guard at the checkpoint greeted her. "Should I inform the comm specialists to establish the link with Admiral Hackett?"

"I would be very happy." Liara said. She was often visiting the Comm Center to contact Hackett, so all the personel there knew where she usually called.

She went through the checkpoint with no problem and headed to one of the comm chambers (A/N: these rooms that scan you and send the data to the other side, y'know).

"Calling - Admiral Hackett. Stand by for a reply." the Alliance VI said in a synthetic voice, as the glowing column of scanners appeared around Liara. After a moment the figure of the Admiral was shown in front of her.

"Doctor T'Soni. It's been a while since we've talked." he greeted her firmly, though Liara knew that he was tense for some reason. "I assume you have found something..."

"Yes Admiral, I used the encryption codes from Kahje to decrypt the recently recovered data package." she said. "I briefly looked at the files and there is defianetely some information on the Reapers in there. I saw some of the ship designs, as well as some form of blueprint that I couldn't connect with anything."

"A blueprit for what?" Hackett asked her.

"A device of some sort. I haven't taken a closer look yet, but there were some references that it was supposed to help them defeat the Reapers." Liara explained.

"Are you sure?" he looked at her, still not quite believing what she said, but Liara nodded her head. "Very well. I'll try to send some more scientists, as well as resources to he-he-help... y-y-you in your-r-r-r..."

The image and the voice of the Admiral started to become glitchy and after a while, Liara couldn't understand nor see the hologram of Hackett.

"Admiral? Are you there?" she asked with concern.

"It appears that there is something wrong with the communication at the moment." voice of a female comm specialist echoed through the room from the speakers. "We might not be able to fix it immediately, Doctor T'Soni. I would recommend waiting outside the comm room, as we try to re-establish the link. We'll inform you when it's done."

Liara left the room as instructed and headed back to the archives. Although she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something wrong. She looked around her and felt that it was too quiet for this facility, even though it was still morning. As she was making her way to the tram checkpoint, red lights appeared on the ceiling and the voice from the speakers.

"Alert! Earth is under attack! Repeat - Earth is under attack! Prepare for the emergency data lockdown!"

Earth was under attack already? Liara couldn't believe it. She knew the Reapers would come, but didn't expect them to arrive so quickly. Her mind was now focused on one thing: getting the Prothean data off planet and delivering it to the Alliance, or any Council race.

Liara started running towards the tram and could feel her heart beating against her throat. She was just a few rooms away from the checkpoint, but then she heard screams. Screams of pain and fear.

'Did they make it to here too?' she panicked, but against her common sense she decided to open the door.

At first there was not much to see, but the screams were now louder. Liara took a few steps forward and then noticed an Alliance security guard... with a hole in his helmet.

"Goddess..." she gasped, although she didn't have much time to look at him, as the screams were now loud enough to think the victims were VERY close to her. Liara quickly grabbed the guard's Predator pistol and hid behind a wall.

She could hear some people running into the room, still screaming. Then suddenly a few gunshots were heard and all screams were gone. Now Liara's heart was trying to punch its way out of her chest. There was a brief moment of silence, before she heard more footsteps, but those were slower and more relaxed. Too many for one person though.

"I think that's all of them in this sector." one of the unknown people spoke, their voice being strongly distorted.

"What are the orders now then?" another asked with almost identical voice.

"We should check the area for any additional personel." the first one replied. "Also, no squad reported to have captured that Asari doctor. We should have our eyes peeled for her."

Liara almost screamed. There was only one organization that could pull off such an attack, and knew where she was all this time. Cerberus. If they got their hands on that newly acquired data, who knew what consequences could it have.

For now though she needed to survive to do anything else. How she wished that Shepard was here with her.

 **Orbit of Qreten, light carrier Taxiliar, Sleeping quarters.**

"ALERT! TEAMS TRIAT, MAARDIN, EMBER AND HUNTER WILL REPORT TO THE HANGAR BAY IMMEDIATELY!" the announcer's voice echoed through the room.

Virox looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He knew that it was time to finally take some action. The news about whole colonies of Council species going dark, as well as some of the Carvin outposts being wiped out, as if they never existed, put the Carvin Empire on high alert. It also included assembling rapid response forces made up of small flotillas of ships, capable of quick retaliation, as well as some limited ground strike capabilities. He was now a part of one such groups and was promoted to what humans would refer to as sergeant first class.

After being reinstated, Virox was assigned to a team of soldiers fresh from training, yet with the best final overall score in the entire training camp. He was going to check if that meant anything, as well as act as their squad leader for a while. Now they were probably going to get their first real mission.

"Looks like it involves us too, boss." Ember Six, the loudmouth of the team was the first to speak.

"Yeah no shit." Virox said with a chuckle, although his 'joker' personality was very often switching with the 'serious' one recently. Nevertheless he still wanted to keep himself and the Ember team optimistic. "Remember, if you all screw this up, I'll kick your ass and send petition for your demotion to maintenance team."

"Mhmm." all Embers let out a short laugh and the entire team, with Virox included quickly grabbed their weapons and headed towards the elevator.

As they got in and started heading down, Virox gazed upon the soldiers under his command. Embers did really good in boot camp, despite not staying there for the entirety of the standard training time. This left a huge mark on them, a mark that Virox would have to remove ASAP. They thought that if they did so good as complete greens, they knew what to expect from the war. But Virox suspected that at some point they will have to understand that war isn't all about heroism and honourable sacrifices, but about difficult decisions, death, destruction, ruthless calculus, and often leaving your friends to die so that you can escape. He wanted to prepare them for the moment they'd be struck with cold and brutal truth that he has known for his entire life.

The elevator opened and they noticed that most of the called teams were already assembling near the two CATT gunships, so they quickly left the elevator and joined them. No one knew what the heck they were going to do.

"Ember, you guys go in the second gunship, with Triat." one of the crewmembers of the ship has directed them to the right gunship. "You'll be briefed inside from what I know."

"Good luck." another one added.

Virox and Embers approached the right gunship, only to be met with some other crewmembers holding weapons and passing them to the already entering Triat team members. Although these weapons were something new, unlike anything they've seen so far.

"Hey, what are these beauties?" Virox was first to ask about the guns, since he became a bit of a gun maniac recently.

"You'll be briefed along the way." the crewmember shrugged and threw him one of the guns, as well as a bag of what looked like convex heat dispersion discs from CAR-26 rifle. It was quite a short weapon, but Virox didn't have time to observe it more carefully, and entered the gunship. Soon everyone was inside and the back entrance was closed. All soldiers took their places on the seats and the interior of the gunship turned dark. Then a holo displayer in the middle flickered and showed Captain Ra'Diin, commander of the carrier and the entire Rapid Response force they were part of.

"Alright, we don't have much time, so I'll be brief." he said, with emotionless tone. "2 days ago one of our small outposts at the border of the Empire has gone dark. Now we've expected this to slowly happen, but the outpost has started showing some extremely small yet increasing activity across our network today."

'Someone is meddling with our systems.' Virox quickly figured it out.

"Your job is to land near the facility, get in, find out who or what is causing this activity, and get out. The outpost is on a T0 planet, so pressurize your armors and wear helmets at all times." Ra'Diin continued. "For this mission you've been provided the newest weapons in the Empire. The Void-02 shotgun is the first eezo-based weapon we manufacture and it fires liquid alloy of iron, uranium and tungsten, or Thanix ammo in short. You're going to test this weapon in combat enviroment. It has regulated spread, can be linked to your visor to imrove aiming, but the discs that you've been given are acting as ammo, so keep your eyes on it."

"Sweet!" one of the Embers commented as he looked at his weapon and others started to do the same.

"We'll jump out in 3 minutes, so inspect your weapons and link them to the rest of your equipment." captain finished and his image began to vanish. "Triat and Ember shall land near the main entrance and make their entry from there, while Maardin and Hunter will enter through one of the hidden emergency exits in order to cover more ground. Good luck. Central out."

Everyone immediately started closely inspecting the newly acquired guns, and Virox did the same. He looked at the gun from all sides. It was slim, made of grey metal. It had a deployable stock, a scroll wheel for spread regulation on the left side, right above the trigger, where his thumb could easily access it. On the right side, there was a round convex disc, probably the equivalent of an ammo clip. The main body of the weapon was smaller than that of the CAR-26 rifle, making it more compact. The barrel was a metal tube in a shape of an upside-down triangle, resembling to the pattern of Carvin jaws. under the barrel surprisingly, Virox found what looked like a pump for old-fashioned shotguns he sometimes used during the Great Grox War. He cocked the gun and noticed holes underneath the pump as he moved it. It was probably a way to cool down the weapon during combat and Virox didn't mind. This feeling of cocking the weapon was recently lost as the technology advanced. New shotgun was a plesant exception.

Virox's thoughts then drifted back to Qreten and the Or'Zaal family. Zia and Nalik were now in boot camp being trained in their respective professions, while their parents were also called to active duty. His worries were confirmed. The kiddos would be send into combat pretty soon if the Reapers were as close as the Command thought.

Trying to distract himself from these painful topics

"Ready up! We're going in!" the gunship's pilot said through the speaker, bringing Virox back to reality. They felt the vehicle lifting off and Virox pulled out the additional part of his helmet and wore it on his face and jaws in order to pressurize it. All soldiers did the same and their heads now looked like if they were robot heads. Their mouth was covered by a speaker, similar to that of the quarian masks, but without the glowing light.

"Approaching the landing zone. Prepare for a drop." pilot informed. "Opening the hatch in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6..."

Everyone checked their weapons.

5...

*CRACK*

4...

Virox stopped feeling anything.

3...

He was on a mission and planned to get it done.

2...

With his team.

1...

For the Empire.

"0! Go! Go!" pilot shouted as the hatch opened and everyone ran through it. The weaker gravity of the planet slowed down their fall, allowing all soldiers to land with no problem. As a highest ranking soldier in the group, Virox was now technically in command of the two teams.

"Alright, we'll move up the hill and to the landing pad, then make our entrance from there." he ordered. "No lights. We don't want to cause commotion if those inside might be hostiles."

He got a collective 'Roger' as a reply and both squads moved up the hill. As they reached the flat summit, they immediately spotted the landing zone, but the lights were all off. It seemed that whoever was in the facility was trying their best to stay unnoticed. The main door to the outpost seemed to still be working though, as the control panel of the door was glowing.

Virox pointed at four soldiers, two from Ember and two from Triat, and gestured his hand at the right side of the door. They immediately understood and took their positions, ready to enter. He then ordered the same thing to four another soldiers and they too positioned themselves at the left side of the door.

"Ember 6, slice the door." he said.

"Got it, boss." the loudmouth he was, Ember 6 replied in a cocky tone and started working. It took him relatively 8 seconds and he raised his hand with five fingers. Then he started counting down and when all fingers were gone, the door opened and soldiers pointed their weapons inside, even though it was still decompression chamber.

Virox ordered the remaining soldiers who weren't positioned at the first door to take positions at the second one. They obeyed, and when they took positions, the remaining soldiers outside, including Ember 6, went to the pressurization chamber.

"Stand by. Pressurizing the room." a synthetic voice spoke as the room started to become filled with air. "Complete. Opening the door."

It revealed what Virox already predicted. The hallway was filled with bodies of Carvin soldiers, things that looked like human husks he had encountered before, and something else.

"Defensive positions. I'll investigate the corpses." he ordered and approached a strange body. It fell on the side, so he tried to turn it to its back to take a look at the head. As for now, it looked like someone tore off the skin of some bipedal creature and increased the muscle mass greately, although it didn't give much of an advantage. The muscles looked like bubbles, and the hands, legs and torso were covered in pipes, wires and other Reaper upgrades. When he turned the body, Virox looked at the head and immediately spotted four... no, five eyes. The corpse looked like a modified batarian, but with an extra eye. He activated his omni-tool to confirm it and took a quick scan. The DNA was similar, though altered in many ways. Still, it was enough to confirm what race was used to create this creature.

"Batarian. Modified." Virox stated emotionlessly, then looked at its arm. "Weapon connected to the body. Strange. Keep your eyes open."

"So the Reapers really use their fallen victims to build their own forces." Ember 2 said, as he finally understood what Virox told them a few weeks before.

"Man, every guy of ours that dies, or is captured, can fuel their ranks." Triat 7 added.

"Cut the chatter." Virox snapped sharply, making everyone flinch. They were now certain that he was in his 'ruthless mode' now. "We're moving deeper into the facility."

The two squads obeyed and slowly started to walk through the hallways. There was plenty of room to cover in them. Carvins designed their facilities to be incredibly defensible, and all the bodies of Reaper husks proved that it was indeed. However there was one thing that bothered all the soldiers - why there were no corpses outside, or even in the pressurization chamber? As if Carvins started attacking after they got in, but that didn't make much sense. Unless they didn't, but someone else moved the bodies.

Soon, two teams found themselves at the crossroad of hallways. Two ways seemed identical, but everyone knew that they could miss the enemy by going just the one way.

"Triat, go take the left hallway. I'll go to the right with Embers." Virox ordered.

Teams split and Embers slowly walked through the right hallway. Shortly after they encountered a turn to the left and after some quick inspecting, they proceeded forward. This hallway also shown signs of battle, as there were bodies of Carvins, husks and transformed batarians everywhere.

"Sir! Over there!" Ember 2 pointed forward. "A device of some sort. It defianetely wasn't here before."

"Careful. Might be rigged." Ember 7 warned his colleague.

The team slowly approached the device, but stopped for a moment, because they started to hear buzzing in their ears the closer they went. This wasn't just some normal device. It was Reaper tech for sure.

"Gah, it starts to really piss me off." Ember 6 growled, as he smacked himself on the helmet to shake off the feeling.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ember 5 added. He on the other hand was twitching already and the buzzing in his ears started to become painful.

"We just need a quick scan." Virox replied. The cold nature in his current state was somehow desensitizing him, therefore he didn't feel pain. That also meant that he couldn't relate to the pain of his comrades. He activated his omni-tool and started scanning the device. As he did, the growling of the Embers became louder.

"Now the voices..." Ember 2 said quite loudly. "I'm so angry all the sudden..."

Shortly after even Virox started to see things. Memories from the past. He flinched, but the scan wasn't complete. More and more images were flashing before him, bringing back painful moments of his life. What he often had to endure in his sleep now was brought back in daylight. His hand started shaking. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Gah!" he screamed, then pulled out a new shotgun and shot the device.

The feeling was gradually getting weaker and most of the soldiers seemed to have calmed down. Virox was panting heavily. His comrades were cautiously looking at him, as such violent behaviour was uncommon, while he was under influence of his 'serious' part of himself.

*CRACK*

Virox turned around to his soldiers and looked at them closely. They tried to hide the fact that they felt a bit dizzy, but he was not fooled.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked with worry.

"We're fine." almost all soldiers said in unison.

"Fine my ass." Virox snapped and approached them closer. This reaction was new to them. Embers didn't know Virox's third, merged personality, so they were surprised to say the least. Virox himself sighed, realizing how he acted. "Look, I'm sorry if I made you endure any unnecessary pain. My personalities switch from one to another in random moments. Right now I'm whole, but it won't last for long. Let's just get this over with and get out of here."

"Yes sir." all soldiers replied.

"Ember team, come in." the comms went live with the voice from the Taxiliar carrier. "Are you there?"

"Affirmative Taxilian. We stopped to scan an unknown Reaper device. It can meddle with someone's head, that's for sure." Virox anwsered.

"Copy that. Triat has discovered a Carvin soldier, that was probably used as a test subject. The corpse suggests that the experiment ended in failure." Captain Ra'Diin said. "However I think we have discovered who meddles with our network now. Maardin team has found Cerberus shuttles near the base, after they went to search for any clues outside. Shuttles are manned and operational, which means that the enemy is still in the base."

"What is our objective now, sir?" Virox asked, while signaling his soldiers to slowly move forward through the hallway.

"Triat and Hunter are heading towards the main facility now, and Maardin will prepare to blow up the shuttles." Ra'Diin informed. "You are to meet up with them and eliminate all Cerberus operatives in the base."

"Roger that." Virox signed off and turned towards the Embers. "Alright, we're going deeper. Pick up the pace."

Soldiers started to move quicker, while trying to be as silent as possible. After passing near the blown up armory (standard Carvin protocol when the base is doomed to fall), they finally reached the door leading to the command center and other critical parts of the facility.

"Taxiliar, this is Ember 2. We're in position." one of the soldiers beat Virox to report their status, and Virox himself smiled weakly at that sight.

"This is Triat Leader. What took you guys so long?" was the reply. It seemed that they waited for them for a while now.

"Cut the chatter and prepare to breach. Maardin team is ready to light up the shuttles." Taxiliar command scolded the soldiers.

Embers took their positions beside and in front of the door, ready to breach. Ember 6 placed a breach charge on the door and held his finger on his wrist computer, ready to blow the door up.

"What was that?" a distorted voice came from behind the door. "I heard something from the door."

"Light it up, 6." Virox ordered and Ember 6 happily obeyed.

Their first fight just began.

 **A/N: Aaaaaand a cliffhanger. (BOOOOOO! You suck! After such a long break and you give us only dialogue shit? Shame on you, sucker!) Yeah, yeah, I know. Really, I promise that the next chapter shall have all the fighting, blood and explosions that you desire. Or at least I hope I can satisfy you. A little spoiler: we're coming back to Garrus next chapter. Apologies for the wait again. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	3. Lighting the Fire

**A/N: So I guess my inspiration is starting to come back. I'm sorry that the updated versions of The Fourth Galactic Power are not yet being uploaded, but I'll try to finish them ASAP, without sacrificing time dedicated for writing this story. It could take me a while, since I'm on a little vacation and most of this chapter has been written on my phone. Apologies for any grammar mistakes that could occur because of that btw. Autocorrect is a b*ch. Nevertheless, we're moving towards the more action-packed part of the story, which is much easier for me to write, so I hope that I'll be able to write chapters more frequently.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Guest: Much appreciated. As you can see, I managed to get this one earlier than the last one. Hopefully I can keep it up.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Unknown system, Carvin outpost, Inner part of the facility**

"It's the Car-GAH!" Cerberus soldier shouted, but was cut off by a laser bolt to the face. Other soldiers tried to respond, but some of them died immediately, while others were forced to take cover. Embers moved in, some with their new shotguns, while others with assault rifles. Virox took out two grunts on the left and moved forward to take a better position. His squadmates covered him as he advanced, until he reached the new cover. They worked like a machine. Like one organism. The inferior Cerberus troops didn't stand a chance and were easily shot down by the overwhelming power of the Carvins.

Suddenly a Cerberus Centurion peaked from his cover on the right. He fired a few bullets at the advancing Embers. However he was quickly stopped by Ember 2, who swiftly reached and fired his shotgun at him. Centurion's barriers were instantly overloaded and his armor was melted where the liquid alloy hit him.

"Status!" Virox shouted, as he didn't see any more hostiles. All soldiers shouted 'Clear' one after another. "Alright, let's move out."

Ember team advanced through the room that looked a comm center. There was a console table in the middle of the room, now wrecked after the firefight, some monitors, each with a separate chair (probably for private correspondence), and other stuff. Carvins quickly left it, and some of the soldiers started sharing opinions about the newy acquired shotguns.

"Damn, that Centurion didn't stand a chance, and this was just one hit." Ember 2 chuckled quietly, to not create much unnecessary noise.

"Yeah, you could hunt rabid Krogan with that." Ember 5 added.

"We don't know how often we can fire without overheating it." Ember 7 pointed out. He and 6 were twins, but they were complete opposite. 6 was a cheerful and maybe a bit psychotic guy, while 7 was cautious and kept analysing everything. He was their voice of reason, besides Virox.

"Hold up!" now Virox himself interrupted their discussion and raised his hand. "You hear that?"

They started listening and suddenly heard repetitive noises. Two kinds of noises. One sounded like fire from laser rifle, while other like gunshots from conventional mass accelerators. Every now and then a distorted scream was heard, indicating that one of the Cerberus soldiers has died.

"Firefight, sir." Ember 7 said. "Must be Triat engaging Cerberus troops."

"They went another way, meaning there are more entrances to the room ahead." Ember 1 analysed. If not for Virox's presence, he would be the actual leader of the squad. "We could outflank Cerberus if we move fast. It seems like a lot of hosties there."

"Good thinking, 1." Virox commended and turned back towards the source of the noise. "Weapons free. We're moving in fast."

After that, all the Carvins rushed forward in a perfect attack formation, ready to engage the enemy. With her enhanced speed they moved quickly and soon reached the closed door.

"Charges. Fast." Virox ordered and soldiers immediately obeyed. The moment they were by the door, Ember 6 used another breach charge. He planted it quickly and after moving away, immediately set it off, creating an entrance for the team. All soldiers ran into a room, to find Triat pushing back Cerberus troops, from the left side to the right. It was time for Embers to join the fun.

Ember 1 threw a grenade at two Cerberus grunts behind cover, removing them from existence. Next, Ember 2 and 5 moved in through the middle with shotguns, taking out four more soldiers. Enemy realized that they were being outflanked and started to quickly retreat, but Virox was having none of that. He ordered Ember 3, 6 and 7 to move towards the exit by the far right side of the room to cut them off. All three of them charged to their destination at lightning speed and successfully secured the exit. After that, the only thing left to do was to kill the remaining Cerberus soldiers in the room. The combined power of two teams made short work of their enemy.

"Well, that took you long enough." Triat leader chuckled as he approached the Embers with is rifle resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry that we had to babysit you, since you couldn't deal with a bunch of Cerberus grunts properly." Ember 6 teased back.

"Cut the chatter." a voice from their comms interrupted their chat. It was captain Ra'Diin. "Listen up. Maardin has successfully destroyed the Cerberus shuttles outside, and Hunter is now securing the command center with little resistance. Deploy soldiers and look for any other hostiles in the base."

"Roger." both Virox and Triat leader replied in unison, then started to send their soldiers on patrols across the facility.

"Ember leader, Triat leader, you report to the command center and meet up with Hunter. They should clear things up before you get there." Ra'Diin ordered. "Find out what exactly were they doing with our network. Taxiliar out."

Triat leader looked at Virox, with a questioning look, and Virox nodded. They both headed to the Command Center. As they walked through the hallway, they could hear a distant sound of the firefight, however, after a few screams of agony, there was silence. Both team leaders walked in, only to see the Hunter team casually walking around the room and inspecting the dead soldiers. In the middle, by the holotable stood the Hunter leader. He waved his hand at them to come and they obeyed.

"What have you got?" Virox simply asked, even though his cheerful personality has long since taken over.

"Not much. Only that they were using this facility to study our network and its security." Hunter leader said, while looking at the data displayed on the holotable. "However, it seems that through their attempts to access our network, they were studying how it works. Some more time, and maybe they would've been able to connect to it, while staying hidden."

"That's no good. Did they manage to transmit the data to their superiors?" Triat leader asked.

"Some of it. During the Reaper attack on the facility, the comm tower has been damaged. They managed to partially repair it, allowing them to send the data, although only in small packages at the time." Hunter leader replied. "We're lucky they only sent that much."

Virox in the meantime joined other soldiers while they were inspecting the corpses. Cerberus really did put a lot of resources into the equipment of their individual soldiers. He admired them for that, as the Carvin Empire was following the similar doctrine. Their armor was tough, had built-in jet propellers for high jumps, or descents. However only Centurions possessed shield generators, and possessed advanced weaponry, though Virox couldn't blame them. They were an organization, therefore had limited resources at their disposal.

What was bothering him though was the fact that most of the voices of the soldiers were the same. As if there was no difference. So far only Carvins were that similar to eachother to have almost identical voices. Humans were known to be genetically the most diverse species in the Milky Way, so something was not adding up. Voice changers could've been implemented, but species with superior hearing, like Krogan or Carvins, could see tiny differences between various people speaking. Virox was too troubled with that to just leave it be, so he approached one of the dead Centurions.

Centurion himself was shot in the chest, so his head was intact. Virox kneeled down in front of him and started to look for any way he could take off Centurion's helmet. No results. It seemed like if Cerberus never wanted their soldiers to take off their helmets. Pretty good way to ensure loyalty. If various soldiers never saw eachother's faces, they wouldn't see their fellow soldiers as people, but numbers, and they would be less likely to develop bonds that could sway their loyalty. Nevertheless Virox still didn't give up. Instead of taking the helmet off, he thought of removing the shiny yellow visor that covered his face. That task was much easier. It took him about 20 seconds and after a short hiss, the visor fell off... revealing a very disturbing image.

"Oh... shit..." Virox couldn't find the words to express the shock, fear and even a bit of admiration he was feeling now. The Centurion's face was dangerously similar to that of a Reaper husk, though slimer and with skin and some face muscles still remaining. He looked like a human-husk hybrid. Virox didn't waste time and activated his omni-tool and scanned the corpse. Immediately some results appeared on his visor. As a normal footsoldier, he didn't understand most of it, so instead he tried to compare the data from the dead Centurion with that of the dead husks they encountered before, to look for similarities. The results were unclear to him, but one thing was certain: Cerberus was using Reaper tech to enhance their soldiers.

To confirm his worries, Virox ran to the Cerberus standard soldier and attempted to take off his helmet. No results, just like with Centurion, but now Virox was not going to wait. He pulled out a Bayonette knife that he managed to buy on the black market, thanks to the Shadow Hunters he kept in touch with. Then he used the knife to disconnect the helmet from the rest of the armor, at the upper throat, so that the helmet could be taken off. His fears were confirmed. Cerberus grunts were also modified with Reaper tech.

"They're using the Reaper tech!" Virox blurted out, seemingly for no reason. Triat leader and Hunter leader turned towards him and looked at him with a bit confused looks. They knew he was crazy all right, but this sudden reaction surprised them. However they soon realized what he meant.

"What?" Hunter leader asked, still not quite believing him.

"Triat, Hunter, what's going on?" the voice of captain Ra'Diin came from the holotable. Fortunately Virox joined the two leaders and saluted quickly.

"Captain, I have bad news." he said.

"Clarify." Ra'Diin's hologram appeared on the holotable.

"Both Cerbrus field commanders and grunts show signs of heavy genetic and mechanical improvements. Their bodies now bear a huge resemblance to those of the Husks I have encountered during my time with Commander Shepard and the Collectors." Virox reported. "If Cerberus can use the Reaper tech to enhance their soldiers, it is possible they can use it for other purposes as well."

"Like hacking or linking themselves to our network." captain deducted. "Have you taken scans of the soldiers?"

"Affirmative." Virox replied.

"Good." Ra'Diin nodded and looked at the other team leaders. "Delete all files and prepare to overload the base's reactor. We're leaving nothing behind. When you're done, leave the base and head to the location of Maardin team. We'll extract you from there."

"Yes sir." both team leaders said in unison and left to prepare the base for destruction. Virox called this a successful mission, but then he remembered that they haven't gotten off world yet. There was still a chance for shit to go down. That's why he contacted the Ember team.

"Ember team, this is Ember leader, status report."

All Embers reported one after another, and there was all 7 of them alive and ready.

"No hostile activity in the base, sir. It seems we're clear." Ember 1 said.

"Good. Report to the command center immediately. We're leaving this place." Virox ordered and recieved a collective 'Copy'. He then turned towards the Hunter team. "How are the things going?"

"Last packages of data are being removed, and the clock is ticking for the main reactor." one of the Hunters said.

"We're ready to leave." Triat leader added, as both his team and Ember team just entered the room.

"Alright, let's move out." Virox said and all soldiers headed to the back entrance, that the Hunters used to get in. He then contacted the command. "Taxiliar, we're en-route to the extraction point. ETA 2 to 3 minutes."

"Copy. Your ride is heading to pick you up." captain Ra'Diin replied.

Thanks to the enhanced speed of the Carvins, the teams quickly reached the back entrance, but because the the depressurization chamber was smaller, only one team could enter at once. Still it went very quick and Virox already noticed a distant smoke. Most likely the remainings of Cerberus shuttles. It was not long until they saw the Maardin team, standing ready for pickup. As the three other teams were to join them, suddenly the two gunships flew above them, then turned back and descended roughly 10 meters from them.

"Alright, get in fast!" the pilot of one of the gunships shouted, though his helmet distorted his voice. "Same groups as before."

Virox waved at Ember and Triat to quickly board the vessel. Soon both gunships were full and ready to go, and slowly the engines roared. They were leaving this place. Inside the gunship, screen activated, displaying the base from orbit. It was not long until the explosion appeared on the screen, indicating that the reactor did its final job well.

"Good job, teams. The mission is complete. We're leaving this system." the satisfied voice of captain Ra'Diin echoed through the cargo space of both shuttles, and all Carvins let out a small cheer.

"Captain, we've lost contact with two of our scout drones!" another voice spoke, which made everyone flinch. In operations like this, when a flotilla entered a warzone, the ships deployed scout drones to inform the main body about any approaching enemy. They were expendable equipment, but their destruction meant the obvious: the enemy was in the system.

"Where?" Ra'Diin asked, his tone immediately switching to serious.

"On our 7." another officer replied. "Wait! Drone S-17 has a visual!"

The screen of the gunship flickered again and displayed a small group of ships. Two small ones, and one at least 2 kilometers long. Virox looked at that sight and knew what this meant.

"Sir, those are Reaper ships! We need to leave now!" he half shouted to his mic.

"I know an enemy, when I see one!" captain replied calmly, while the image from the drone was suddenly cut off. "Can we do a pickup of the rest of the drones?"

"Giving the estimated max speed of the enemy vessels and effective range, we can pick up 3 at most." officers said.

"Fine. Pick them up, and we'll leave the rest." Ra'Diin ordered. "Strike teams! I need you onboard Taxiliar ASAP! Move your asses!"

Embers and Triats were hearing to all of this, and now they didn't even bother to hide their fear. Virox knew how it was to be this helpless, relying only on others to help you. However he knew that they had to experience this. It would help them in the long run to understand the reality of war. Therefore he didn't say anything.

"Taxiliar, we're approaching the hangar bay now." the pilot of their gunship reported.

It felt like eternity for the teams inside, but after roughly 15 seconds, their ship slowly descended and landed on the hangar. This didn't reassure them much, since it meant that there was a chance they'll die here and not in the shuttle.

"We've got the package. I repeat: all teams and recoverable drones are on board. Retreat from the system!" Ra'Diin shouted through the comms.

All soldiers felt a weak buzzing in their ears, a side effect of activating the Carvin FTL, and then all the ships escaped the system. It was now when all the soldiers let out a loud sigh of relief and started to take off their pressurized masks and helmets. When they did, Virox looked at them and saw soldiers who looked like they just faced death and managed to barely escape from it's grasp... which wasn't entirely false. Although the most stressful part of the mission was defianetely extraction. They kind of reminded him of himself during the Great Grox War and he realized that if they survive together, they'll have a lot of good memories with eachother. The Embers were his soldiers now. His brothers in arms.

"Strike teams Ember, Hunter, Triat and Maardin report to the bridge." the voice through the speakers brought him back to reality and he looked at the mentally exhausted Embers and Triats.

"You can consider yourselves lucky. A few missions like that and you'll learn all the good stuff." he said and stood up. "Come on. Let's see what Ra'Diin and the eggheads have to say about the mission and our findings."

It took a while, but soldiers, now baptized in fire, also stood up and saluted poorly. Then both teams left the gunship and headed to the main elevator. After a while, they saw Maardin and Hunter doing the same. All of them were fresh from the accelerated training course and their first battle had huge psychological impact on them.

The elevator opened before them, revealing a few guys from the maintenance crew, who quickly left, making space for the four teams. All soldiers slowly walked in and the elevator closed its doors. Virox was glad that the Carvin elevators didn't have this overly happy and annoying music, like on Citadel.

A silent synthetic 'BEEP' was heard and the doors opened. The bridge was of relatively triangular shape, though the window on the far end of the room was more round. On both sides of the main elevator there were two other small ones, and between them, there were the doors to the officer quarters. In front of them, there was the main holotable, with high ranking officers around it. On its right there was a communications console, while on its left there was scout drones control console. Farther into the room, near the window, there was the pilot space. It composed of one main pilot console for the main pilot, and two smaller support consoles for two co-pilots. On both sides of the room there were Point Defense control consoles, that don't necesarily need the gunners to aim and shoot at the incoming enemies. Gunners would rather prioritize the targers of each individual turret in the section, sometimes several times in mere last two controls were located on the far sides of the room, at the ends of the window, and they were responsible for monitoring the defense systems (shields and hull integrity), and data from sensor arrays respectively.

"Teams, over here." the officer with captain uniform said, as he waved his hand for them to come near the holotable. When everyone gathered around, he looked at each of the soldiers briefly and said. "Wow, you guys look like shit!"

"The newbies couldn't handle a bit of stress." Virox joked.

"If you keep coming back like this after every mission, I swear I'll drag each and every one of your sorry asses into the airlock and send you flying down to Qreten's atmosphere." Ra'Diin threatened, but when he saw the reactions of his soldiers, he chuckled lightly. "At ease. You did good today."

There were a few sighs of relief and even a bunch of chuckles. Virox in particular enjoyed the scene, as he observed the four squads of freshly trained soldiers slowly accomodating to the reality of military, at least outside of combat.

"Now to the important stuff." sadly, but ineviably, Ra'Diin had to end this happy moment. "What you recovered now will be extremely valuable in the upcoming days." he pressed a few buttons on the holotable and the images of Husks and modified Batarians showed up. "As of now the majority of the Reaper forces is composed of this type of troops. I'll send the data to the imperial RD to see if they can learn anything from that, or at least if these things have weaknesses we can exploit." then the image changed to the dead Carvin that Triat has seen before. "It also seems that they're trying to modify us to suit their needs. The data from the other scanned corpses suggests that, while the Reapers have little problem implementing their mechanical improvements into our bodies, they have trouble with creating a way to control the modified troops. Most seemed to have not been responding to their commands, leaving them completely inactive, and some were just reanimated corpses, that couldn't do anything in particular."

"That's good I guess." overly talkative Ember 6 blurted out, but he was hit in the head by his brother, 7.

"Yeah, but this is where the bad news come in." captain sighed and the 3D images of the modified Cerberus soldiers appeared on the holotable. "It's confirmed that Cerberus uses Reaper tech to enhance the combat capabilities of their soldiers. But if they use it to this, they might be using it for other purposes as well, for example hacking into our network." the images vanished, but Ra'Diin continued. "And while they didn't send the entire data about our network to their main body, we have to stay vigilant. I'll contact the command to issue a mandatory self-destruct order to all of our outposts in case of an overwhelming enemy attack, so that these bastards won't have anything to study." the image of the holotable changed again, this time showing two vessels, one smaller and one larger. "Then there are the Reaper ships we encountered right before our escape and managed to get some limited data on them. If these big ships are identical to that 'Sovereign' ship that attacked the Citadel a while back, then we'll need at least 4 flotillas and a 1000 bombers with ion torpedos to severely damage it. These small things are surprisingly tough for their size too, but should be no problem for our fighters and bombers to weaken it enough for even corvettes and frigates capable of taking it down. However they are fast as hell, so our planetary defense won't be able to target them. Both ships also possess a more powerful version of Thanix cannon, but because of it relying heavily on extreme temperature and radiation, our shields should be more efficient in protecting our vessels... hopefully."

That 'hopefully' didn't reassure anyone in the room.

"If I'm right, our fighters will play a decisive role in fighting these monstrosities, just like they did during the Great Grox War. And hopefully our Assassins will have enough firepower to at least damage the big ones to a point when they won't be able to effectively fight." Ra'Diin said quietly. "But that's none of your concern. You'll be on the ground, fighting with their hordes of modified soldiers of probably all species. Now go get some rest. You've earned it."

All soldiers saluted, though their expressions were grimm. No one could blame them. Even Virox was worried, though he didn't show it. If this was the kind of enemy they were facing... then this war would be even bigger and more brutal than the Great Grox War. He got chills from the mere thought of experiencing something like Battle of Travalaan once again. He wouldn't be able to stand the sight of another 60 million soldiers dead.

Because of that he went to the elevator like everyone and after reaching his private room, he fell on his bunk with intention to sleep for at least 12 hours (squad rooms were 7 soldiers each, but with Virox as additional squad member, there is 8, so he got a private room). But before that, he decided to check if anything new regarding the invasion showed up, since he didn't do that for a while. From what he knew, their flotilla should already be above Qreten, so the news from the extranet would be available. He grabbed a datapad from his bedside cabinet and opened the 'Galactic News' app. He was immediately struck with a horrifying headline that read 'Earth and Taetrus have gone dark. A Galactic invasion?'

Earth? And Taetrus? Fallen?

CRACK*

If Virox tried to deny the fact that he was now fearing for his life, he couldn't do it now. Fallen Earth meant that the Alliance forces were probably scattered now, making it harder to organize any response to the Reaper threat. Also, Shepard was on Earth. But Virox refused the possibility of him dying. That sonuvabitch died once from the Reapers and it was damn obvious that he doesn't plan on doing that again.

As for Taetrus, it was located at the doorstep of Palaven, so the Turian homeworld is either going to be invaded soon, or it is being invaded right now. Fortunately he knew that Garrus was defianetely not on the planet, as he left to strenghten Turian defenses with his 'Task Force'. What worried him was the fact that if Palaven was under attack now, he probably came back to defend it. It only made things worse.

"Don't die guys... please." Virox begged, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. First tears since the Great Grox War. However silence was the only anwser. "I don't want to loose my second family..."

 **Apien Crest, Trebia System, Palaven.**

Palaven was the homeworld of the Turians. It was probably the most defended planet in the galaxy, though Carvins dared to question it. Never in the history of the Turian Hierarchy an outside force has ever reached and occupied it. So when Taetrus fell, and Reapers have flooded the Trebia System, it was a big shock for their forces. The 'Fifteen-Minute Plan' has failed and now Turian forces were trying to regroup near the Palaven's moon, Menae, to try to retake their homeworld from the Reapers. However the battle has already reached the moon too, and turian forces were scrambled to deal with the several Reaper ships that began the ground assault.

Garrus checked the amount of thermal clips in his Mantis sniper rifle. 6 out of 10. He checked clips in his Phaeston. 32 shots in the current clip, and only 150 in the remaining 3 clips. It was bad. The next resupply was not scheduled yet, which meant they'd be running low soon.

Last wave brought three more casualties. Two of them were civilian conscripts from reserves. The remaining soldiers were all exhausted, though none of them wanted to show it. Their company had no armored support, and the only heavy armament they possessed were the two ML-77 Missile Launchers, which weren't very effective both against the enemy infantry and the Reaper ships.

"Vakarian, sir! We're running low on medi-gel!" one of the soldiers shouted, as he was treating a bleeding turian. "I don't know if we'll hold on until the next resupply."

It was frustrating for Garrus to lead now. When there was no Reapers, all thought of him as crazy. Only his father listened to him, and even this led to only small successes. Now, when everything was going up in flames, and all his warnings turned out to be true, they were all asking for an advice he couldn't provide them. Technically he shouldn't even command them. The 'expert advisor' title didn't have many privilages, and it wasn't considered a rank. He was certainly not granted the command over the soldiers he accompanied, but they just decided that he had the most 'experience' with the Reapers, so he should lead them. The only thing he could do was deal as much damage to the Reapers, while avoiding loosing his own men. It was easier said than done.

"Treat only critical wounds and prepare to move out." he ordered, earning a few surprised looks. "The comms are down, so they don't even know if we're alive. We need to regroup with General Victus."

"Yes sir!" they all replied in unison. The discipline of the Turian soldiers was known all across the galaxy. However did it really mean anything when fighting an enemy like this? Soon they would all find out.

The preparations were going quite fast. However the treatment of wounded couldn't be accelerated. They needed all of their soldiers on their feet and fighting. But a few lost seconds could lead to the anihilation of the entire group. Garrus didn't want them to die, but he wasn't planning to die himself either.

"Contact! Left flank!" one of their soldiers on a hill above them shouted, and Garrus heard the roaring of Reaper ground troops from the left. He switched to his Phaeston and aimed at the spot from which the enemies would come.

After a few seconds, the first hostiles showed themselves. Roughly ten husks appeared, followed by four Cannibals, as they called them, since they had a tendency to eat their fallen comrades for protection. Garrus aimed at one of the Cannibals and fired a short burst at its head. Enemy staggered for a while, but it recovered quickly and opened fire at the entrenched turians. Husks moved fast, but when they got close, they were quickly killed. Without the additional cover of the cannon fodder, Cannibals fell quickly as well. It was over for now.

"Status!" Garrus shouted.

"No more wounded, sir!" a soldier reported.

"This was probably a scouting party. The main attack will probably come soon. We need to leave before it happens." he said and turned to the medics. "How is the treatment going?"

"We're patching up the last two soldiers. Shouldn't be long before we finish." the field medic replied, as he was bandaging the wounded soldier's arm.

"Alright, gather your gear!" Garrus ordered and the entrenched soldiers started to pick up the few medkits and ammo boxes that were remaining. The medics waved at him, showing that their work was done and they were ready to go. "Everyone ready! Move out!"

As one the group started to move to a small canyon between two hills, to the right from their former position. If the Reapers decided to attack the now, they would be... how Shepard said it...? Sitting ducks? Garrus had never in his life seen a duck, except when Joker showed it to him on a picture, but he got the idea. However, when they left the little canyon, it seemed like a good idea to go back. They ran onto a quite big plane, which was a rarity on Menae, but it also made them a more tempting target for the Reaper forces.

"Look, sir! General Victus' outpost!" a soldier pointed at something, a bit on the left from where Garrus was facing. "It's under attack!"

He wanted this to be untrue, but his sight has rarely decieved him, and he knew that what he was seeing was real. The smoke, the gunshots, the damaged barricades and cries of soldiers. It all reminded him that this invasion was not just a nightmare he wanted to wake up from.

"Alright, double-time soldiers! We need to help them!"

Soldiers moved out in a perfect formation. Main force was focused on the front and the flanks, while a smaller group was covering the rear. The heavily wounded and medics were in the center, protected from all sides. Two guards of the outposts noticed them quickly and waved at them to come fast. When Garrus passed them, they looked exhausted.

"The enemy is attacking the northern barricade! We need support, otherwise it will fall!" he told them. "Be careful! They also drop their troops from the sky and into the outpost!"

"Thank you soldier!" Garrus nodded and turned towards the soldiers under his command. "Let's go!"

Turians busted into the outpost, only to see several soldiers pinned down by the advancing Reaper forces. Husks were only a few meters from their position, so Garrus didn't waste time and opened fire at the mindless Reaper minions. Other soldiers did the same and started to look for cover, either by the rocks or enclosures in the outpost. These sudden reinforcements gave Turian soldiers the morale boost they needed, and together, with additional soldiers coming from the other side of the outpost, the Reapers were being pushed back.

Garrus smiled from behind his Phaeston. They were on the defensive for a long time and this little exception from the norm felt very good. He shot down two incoming husks and one Cannibal. Then he switched to his sniper rifle and moved to a better position, to see more enemies. Now he saw that the northern barricade was overrun and Reaper forces were freerly moving through the gate to assault the camp. Garrus aimed down his sights and turned his rifle at one of the incoming Cannibals. His target was advancing quickly and behind him there were a few others coming. He waited for them to line up. After all two heads are better... BANG... than one. Both targets fell dead on the ground and Garrus quickly changed his target to other hostiles, who were being depleted quickly. He managed to shoot down two more targets, before they were all pushed back. It even seemed weird that no additional troops weren't dropped into the camp in the drop pods.

"That's it! Show 'em!" someone shouted from the right. When Garrus turned towards the source of the voice, he saw the commander of this outpost, and one of the leaders of the ground defense. General Victus himself. He noticed Garrus relatively quickly and jumped down from the highground he was fring from earlier. "Vakarian! Good to see you. I was worried you guys were gonners when the comms were cut off."

"We're mostly intact, though we have many wounded were running low on ammo. We retreated to try to try solve both of these problems." Garrus replied truthfully.

"In normal circumstances I would punish you for insubordination, but I have to say this was the best decision you could've made." general said. "You saved us here."

"I appreciate the gratitude, general. But now the Reapers have a clear way to go from the west." Garrus pointed out.

"If you hadn't came, they would have a clear way to go everywhere, including general Corinthus, and we cannot loose more air support in this region (A/N: From the fact that Corinthus' base was positioned next to at least a few airfields, I guess that he was coordinating the air support too. Just my thoughts)." Victous anwsered. "Now go resupply and tell everyone to prepare for the next wave. Those bastards won't give up easily."

Garrus saluted and after turning around he eyed the outpost, looking for additional thermal clips. However all the ammo baskets were slowly being emptied by the other soldiers, who were also running low on ammo. If they didn't recieve some support soon, this outpost would not hold much longer. As he was looking for any spare clips, Garrus' gaze fell upon a dead soldier, lying in front of him. He kneeled beside him and touched his face. It was still warm. A recent casualty. He sighed painfully.

"May you join the spirit of Palaven." he spoke these words, while trying not to stutter. Then he looked at the rifle lying beside the body. It seemed untouched and could still have some clips inside. Garrus grabbed the rifle and checked if it had any thermal clips inside. He unlocked the loading mechanism and turned it, so that the spare clips would fall out of the loading port. After a while he heard something slide inside the rifle and then three clips fell on the ground. "Well, it's better than nothing."

He grabbed the clips and loaded two of them into his sniper rifle and one of them into his Phaeston. Then he went to take position at the northern barricade, which was already being repaired. Slowly his thoughts drifted to other things.

With saddness Garrus realized that he hadn't thought about his family since the day the Palaven was invaded. Then it was obvious he would worry, but now, when father and Solana could already be dead, he felt like he forgot about everything he cared about. Now coming back to that was making him feel guilty. He shook the feeling off and focused on what he could be happy about. Their mother was already off world, ready to begin her treatment. At least she was safe from the invasion... for a while. This was partially thanks to Virox, who gave him the money, who gave him 50000 credits for the treatment.

Virox...

Besides Shepard, Virox was Garrus' best friend. They were completely different from eachother. One liked to use the sniper rifle and pick the enemies off from distance, while the other enjoyed rushing into combat and enjoying the kills from up close. However both had a playful approach to the battle, though Virox outmatched Garrus in this category. They often competed for the kills and watched eachother's backs. And when the time came to leave, they still kept in touch, which may just have saved Garrus' mother. Where was Virox now? Did the Reapers reach their teritory? Is he even alive? So many questions started to pop up. Garrus now started to think about all the others who he knew. Liara, Tali, Ashley, who left them on Horizon. Heck, he even wondered if Jack was still alive. And all of these fearful thoughts crashed down on him in mere seconds.

'No...' Garrus tried to keep his emotions in check. 'If at least some of them are alive, then it's good. Now I need to focus, or I may die as well.'

Instead of focusing on unplesant things, he tried to see the positives instead... though there were only a few of them. The northern barricade was almost completely repaired. Turian engineers were using omni-gel to fix the breaches, just like he was often doing... during the Mako shenanegans.

Garrus let out a small laugh, though his expression soon changed to a painful one. It only reminded him of what he could loose.

Another good news was that their fleets above Palaven have locked most of the Reaper capital ships and destroyers in combat, so not many other vessels would be coming their way... for now. No one wanted a two-kilometer vessel landing on them, and most of the soldiers have already seen the devastating firepower of the Reaper main cannons.

"Enemy incoming!" a sudden shout brought Garrus back to reality. He peaked out of cover and looked through scope of his sniper rifle. There were multiple husks crawling towards us, with a lot of Cannibals behind them. Reaper drop pods were falling from the sky, delivering additional troops.

"Send these things back to the Abyss!" General Victus ordered and his men obeyed. A bulletstorm of dozens of rifles hit the spearhead of the enemy assault. Husks fell easily, but Cannibals withstood the bullets better. They started to return fire, causing some soldiers to take cover, which in turn led to fewer casualties on the enemy side.

Garrus himself focused on taking out Cannibals. First bullet hit the modified Batarian right between the eyes... the lower pair. Two next ones also reached their targets, but the enemy was relentless. Suddenly one of the soldiers fell off the barricade, shot in the head. They were loosing ground fast. Some heavy weapons experts started to use their rocket launchers to eliminate groups of Husks, but it was still not enough. Then a cry was heard, something that Garrus knew was inevitable.

"Enemy, left flank!"

It was the exposed left flank, where Garrus and the soldiers that followed him were stationed before. Now the enemy has decided to deal a double blow. Soldiers were rushing to the left flank to stop the bleeding, but many of them were killed before they even got to positions. Now the battle became a struggle for life. Garrus was running low on sniper rifle clips, so he switched to his Phaeston.

The battle was one-sided. Soon enemy forces would overrun them and kill all inside the camp. However they recieved an unexpected help.

When the first Husks were about to reach the barricades, a sound of roaring engines filled the air and suddenly explosions erupted in the enemy lines. Then the four fighters flew above them, getting ready for another run. For a while it might've seemed like an even battle and the Turians even started to push the Reapers back, but it all ended with a loud screech and something dark came out from behind a hill. It then fired and a red shot hit one of the fighters.

"Stay back!" someone screamed, as the giant flying monster flew above the outpost, then turned towards the soldiers and fired a couple of shots. The fortifications of the western barricade were completely destroyed.

"Garrus!" a voice of General Victus rang in his ears. "We're gonna die here soon! Get that thing the hell off my men!"

Well that certainly was going to be interesting. Garrus grabbed his sniper rifle and tried to relocate to the west barricade, while trying to not expose himself to the bullets flying above him. There was No way in hell he'd be able to effectively fire at that flying thing, which dangerously resembled a Harvester from Tuchanka that Virox showed him. And even if he could, the only thing he could achieve was to force it to retreat. Still...orders were orders.

"Try to scare it away! We'll cover you, so you can find a better position!" Victus added and turned towards his other soldiers. "Covering fire for Vakarian at the western barricade!"

The bulletstorm erupted from the outpost, completely wiping out the Husk spearhead of the western assault. Garrus used this opportunity and took a run for the hill near the outpost, recieving a couple of shots to his barriers, but those held firmly at 63%. He slowly climbed up the hill to find a spot he could use to fire at the flying beast. Finally he found a small yet flat spot that had a view on the entire outpost, as well as enemy assault forces.

Garrus started to quickly set up and lied down with his sniper rifle, carefully inspecting the sky. Then the flying monstrosity reappeared. It was coming for another pass above the camp. Garrus quickly aimed his rifle at it and started tracking it with his sight. If he could hit the 'eyes' of the monster...

BANG*

The effect would be better. It seemed that his luck didn't run out yet. The bullet hit the modified Harvester right in one of the few 'eyes' it had on its head. The creature shrieked and changed course, now heading north and leaving the outpost alone.

Garrus felt a warm feeling of satisfaction, until he was hit in the leg by something small. He turned around only to see it was a grenade.

"Crap!" he instinctively kicked the explosive ball and rolled down from the hill. The bumps were painful and when he finally stopped, his entire body was screaming from pain. He couldn't rest, as suddenly a few Cannibals appeared on his right.

There was no possible way he could get back to Victus now. Retreat was the only option. But where? Garrus didn't have time to think about that now and he started running to hide behind a small hill after Cannibals opened fire.

After the threat was gone, he could start thinking about his possible destic ation. The entire area between the bigger outposts was overrun by the enemy. There was little to no chance to survive there, so staying was not an option. A very sensible choice was to reach one of the outposts, but those were slowly falling one by one. Only the highly fortified ones or those with a good commander could withstand the Reaper attacks. This left him with one option.

He had to find General Corinthus.

 **Qreten orbit, Taxiliar bridge**

The successful mission at the outpost today gave the Carvins the insight they needed about their enemy. In the history of war, the one who knew more about the enemy and could use this knowledge, was often victorious. So the information the four teams recovered, as well as the data from the scout drones was now being analyzed by the Carvin staff.

Presence of Cerberus caught them off guard, however even the High General Council has decided to focus on more pressing matters: the Reapers. With the data gathered at the end of the mission Carvin tacticians were making rough assumptions of the capabilities of each ship, as well as createing theoretical strategies to combat them. One thing was for sure: these things were tough and trying to simply destroy them was going to cost men and ships.

Captain Ra'Diin already suggested a way to fight the big ships. The ion torpedoes of the Carvin bombers, as well as ion cannons or electromagnetic cannons, whether planetary or ship mounted, could weaken their enemies in combat and ultimately lead to shutdown of the systems, making the giant ships unable to fight and defend themselves properly.

Indirect approach was almost always better than fighting the stronger energy head on, but this time it was going to cost the Carvins a lot of pilots. But right now this was the best way they could think of.

Ra'Diin himself was standing on the bridge of the Taxiliar, wondering about the future engagements. Of course making plans for such fights would often mean disappointment during the battle. For the plan to survive the whole battle in its original form... it didn't happen beside some isolated incidents. But being prepared was still planning on something to come and fight you. And fighting a battle you've been preparing for was better than fighting unprepared. It was the best that could be done.

This is why Carvins have deployed patrol drones all over the system. Wherever the Reapers would appear, the Carvins would know instantly. Qreten had four ion cannons installed, two of which were installed after the Collector attack. There was no way the Reapers would evade at least some of the fire.

All ground squadrons were mobilized to be ready to take off in case of an attack. Two other Rapid Response flotillas in the neighboring systems could come to help in just two minutesr, and then there were the main fleets, that could also anwser in case of a major assault. On top of that the asteroid field between Qreten and the gas planet Trudit behind it was also a network of small bases which could house starfighters.

However despite all of that, Carvins didn't know anything about the enemy tactics or behavior. Only some data and assumptions about their ships. Until they actually fought them and survived, they would mostly have assumptions.

As Ra'Diin thought about that, one of the Comm Specialists turned away from the screen in front of him and towards the captain.

"Sir! Patrol drones R-37 and R-38 have gone dark!" he shouted.

"Show me!" Ra'Diin ordered and approached the holotable.

The device came to life and the map of the star system has appeared. The small models of patrol drones were flying all around the system, but there was an area that was shining red and where the drones used to be. Suddenly a few red shapes appeared near a neighboring dronae, but then it vanished and was replaced by a red beeping area. These beeping areas were moving precisely towards Qreten.

"Send in our scout drones. Patrol drones should keep their course but avoid Reaper forces!" Ra'Diin said. "Sound the alarm and send the message to our bases in the belt wto keep low for now."

"Yes sir!" specialist replied then added. "Rear Admiral Ve'Zaar is has sent the fleet formation order."

"Get us in position." Captain answered as the Reaper fleet appeared on scanners and vanished once again. "Prepare to launch fighters!"

This battle would be remembered as the true beggining of the war between the Reapers and the Carvins. And he'd be damned if he let the Reapers have it without a fight.

 **A/N: So there it is. The War is on! Now who will win? On a serious note I have the general story of the war done in my head and it should be relatively easy to write from now on. I'm not saying that it won't be time consuming, but I'll try to do it efficiently, while also re-writing the shitty chapters from the first Fourth Galactic Power. Hope you liked the chapter. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	4. Assault

**A/N: They just had to do it. It's the very end of the school year and the teachers realized that they hadn't given us enough graded work. "Oh sure, let's flood them with a crap ton of work AT THE END OF A FOOKEN SCHOOL YEAR! They won't mind." Ah screw it. I'll make someone inform you all that I died from overworking IF I die. Now onto the info. First of all, the first rewritten chapter of the first FGP should arrive a few days after this one will be uploaded. Then I'll slowly work on correcting a few other chapters that need rewritting. Then there is the story info. The war for the Carvin space has officially begun and I'll dedicate my efforts to focus on it mostly, since we know the story. I'll briefly jump back to Shepard's adventures to give info on what they're standing, until the reunion with Virox. Then the story will come back to it's form from the first FGP, though I'll still focus on the Carvin theater. Additionally, I'll try to show how Carvin politics will react and change as the war will progress. We obviously can't forget about the Council, can we?**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: Oh, it's nice to have you back, man. I'm really happy that you came around for the sequel. As for your statement... well, they have to worry about their own loan right now, but at least they were more prepared than most of the races. Aaaand it's not like they're gonna sit by, as the Council is like "Oh, we're sorry we didn't believe you before, but we have our own trouble and we can't help you now, go away and let us deal with our problems. Or better yet, solve our problems for us". You'll see in the chapter :D**

 **Don't shy away from posting the reviews. You'd be surprised how it can motivate a writer and how it can help improve the story. If you see a way I can improve, let me know. Although remember: if you are to criticize, do it in a constructive and cultural way. If you're here to hate and be a piece of shit, don't write anything.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Normandy Sr-2, Shepard's POV**

After visiting the Citadel, leaving Ashley in the hospital, talking to the Council (Shepard had now an urge to choke them all to death with his enhanced strength), rescuing the Turian Primarch from Menae, while picking up Garrus by the way, Shepard was now looking at the galaxy map, knowing that what will happen next can either save them all, or doom the galaxy. The summit that he tried to organize had gone... different than expected.

The Asari bailed out almost immediately, giving a petty excuse that they have already tried what he was doing and it didn't work. Salarians were furious about the whole situation. In their opinion, negotiating with the Krogan was madness, while the Turians thought of it as the only way to save their homeworld. The Krogan themselves seemingly felt that they don't give a damn, though Shepard knew that Wrex was grinning on his throne back on Tuchanka. He knew that they needed them and he planned to use it. But what was even more surprising was that the Carvins offered to join the summit almost immediately and requested an invitation to discuss the matters at hand ASAP. They justified their decision saying that they 'miscalculated the size of the Reaper threat and all who think that can defend themselves on their own are fooling no one but themselves'. Despite the mixed reactions of the Council races, the summit looked more and more interesting. Now it was the moment to get all four representatives aboard the Normandy to sort things out.

"Commander. The Salarian Dalatrass and the Krogan Clan Chief are ready to come aboard." Traynor informed him from her computer. "However Carvins sent a message that their representative might be a bit late due to the intense fighting in Carvin space."

"Have them brought to the conference room." Shepard ordered as he headed to quickly change into a formal attire, though his head was calculating all the possibilities that could destroy the summit. "And hope this doesn't start another war."

As he changed, he started analysing the so quickly escalated Reaper War. The bulk of the Reaper assault had come from the 'east' of the Milky Way. Reapers swept through the poorly defended Batarian space to get initial foothold in the galaxy, as well as gain a huge boost to land force strenght. Their strategy was to rapidly reach the homeworlds of the individual species in order to demoralize and disorganize them, as well as gain useful data on the colonies and their inhabitants, fleets, and overall strength of the race. And while Batarians were one of the weaker players in the galactic game, the next Reaper invasions immediately shifted their focus to all the giants of the Milky Way. Alliance, being the weakest of the 'Big Four' (A/N: Meaning Turians, Carvins, Asari and Humans. Salarians have too small war machine to be counted. Plz don't kill me for referencing the post ww2 Big Three) were the first ones to be targeted. Then there were the Turians and the Carvins. The former were obviously easier prey, since they were completely tied to the Mass Relay network, but also because they were blocking the Reaper access to the Carvin Empire.

It was now that Shepard realized what the Reaper strategy was. Their primary focus on the militarily strong races would deprive the galaxy from a bulk of the defence. They were seemingly ignoring the weaker races like Salarians, whom they could take out fairly easily, giving them a false sense of security, or causing them to secure their own borders before the inevitable attack, instead of helping the others. It was just like in the old human saying 'United we stand, divided we fall'. The Reapers were trying to divide the galaxy into single independent zones of defense, and prevent any form of cooperation between the species. What was worse was the fact that the Citadel Council, instead of calling for mobilization, tried to keep the populace calm by making the invasion seem like something distant. Shepard understood their motives to avoid panic, but sooner or later the populace would have to face the horrifying truth.

Finally he managed to stuff himself into the extremely uncomfortable Alliance formal attire, and headed to the elevator. As he left and headed towards the conference room, the intense talking was already heard. It seemed like the meeting had started without him.

"The Krogan is in no position to make demands!" the voice of Salarian Dalatrass was almost pitiful, though it was filled with outrage.

"The Krogan has a name. Urdnot Wrex. And I'm not just some junkyard varren you unleash whenever you're in trouble." Shepard heard the familiar voice of his old Krogan friend, sounding cold as vaccum. He entered the room and could swear he felt friction of auras of all three leaders in the conference room, each with a totally different stance than the other. "I've got my own problems. Reaper scouts have arrived on Tuchanka." with that Wrex glared at Victus. "So why should I care if a few Turians go extinct?"

"Trying to draw out negotiations will get you nowhere, Wrex." the Primarch replied almost equally coldly. He was the one who was fighting for survival of his people, yet he still maintained the calm stance. Or at least as calm as it could be. "I've got no time for it. Just tell us what you want."

"I'll tell you what I need." Wrex leaned on the table and remained quiet for a moment before finally saying "A cure for the genophage."

After a brief silence, the reaction came, as Shepard expected, from the Salarian Dalatrass.

"Absolutely not! The genophage is nonnegotiable!" she protested.

If he had never met Wrex, or hadn't set foot on Tuchanka, Shepard might've had the same opinion. But after seeing what over a thousand years of the Genophage did to the Krogan, how it changed them, almost reduced them to animals, he felt that it had to stop. Sure there were Krogan who wanted revenge. It was natural. But Wrex was a proof that there were still those who valued the existence of their species more than that. And those individuals might've been the ones that, if given opportunity, could save the Krogan race without starting another war.

"Why are you so opposed to the idea, Dalatrass?" Shepard asked, making it clear from his tone, that he disagreed with her.

"Because my people uplifted the Krogan. We know them best." she replied, but Wrex was clear to counter.

"You mean you used us! To fight a war you couldn't win!" he snapped. "It wasn't the Asari, or the Salarians, or even the Turians who stopped the Rachni! It was Krogan blood that turned the tide!"

"And after that you ceased to be useful!" Dalatrass retaliated. "The genophage was the only way to keep your... 'urges' in check."

Shepard was sick that the Salarians, seemingly being so smart and intelligent, as well as being the second oldest race to the Citadel, thought that they could control everything. As if the Krogan were just tools that could be disposed when not needed. Wrex probably felt the same way, as he was glaring at the Dalatrass with a hateful expression. However all of this was interrupted.

"Uh, Commander? Could you come here for a moment?" Joker's voice echoed from the speakers.

"Not now, Joker. I'm sure you can take care of that yourself." Shepard replied, as he was afraid that if he left the room, the representatives would kill eachother. But then the Primarch joined in and tried to calm the situation down.

"Dalatrass, you may not like him, but Wrex is right. Insulting him won't change that."

"I won't apologize for speaking the truth!" she snapped back. "We uplifted the Krogan to do one thing: wage war. It's all they know because it's all we wanted them to know."

That statement irritated Shepard even more. As if she was suggesting that the Krogan themselves were the reason the genophage was used.

"Your people should've thought the matter through, then." he stated accusingly. He was sick of that overly self-confident attitude that she and her species have represented when talking about the genophage.

"That's precisely my point commander. We've made a rash decision. We turned to the Krogan in desperation." she replied, now showing completely different side. Seemed that she still realized that it was also their fault that the Krogan rebelled. "It's the same mistake you're about to do today. No good can come from curing the genophage."

"That's where you're wrong."

Everyone turned their heads towards the entrance, where three Carvins were walking towards them. One clearly a superior officer with a lot of medals and a formal attire, followed by two soldiers, completely covered in armor. Even their heads and jaws weren't exposed, which made them look like lifeless corpses covered in metal, or emotionless cyborgs.

"I tried to get you to persuade them, Commander." Joker said through the speakers. "They insisted to take their guards onboard for 'unspecified amout of time'."

"I think that't won't be much of a problem." Shepard replied, then turned towards the Carvin representative. "High General Seviros?"

One of the guards bent forward a bit and let out what seemed to be a snort distorted by the helmet. High General immediately turned around at them, and both soldiers corrected their positions immediately. Shepard didn't know what to think of this. Carvins acted a bit strange. Did he say something wrong? Then the High General said something to the soldiers in a dialect his translator couldn't process, and both soldiers nodded their heads and left.

"Unfortunately my dear colleague Seviros is unavailable at the moment. He is now leading the orbital defense of Qreten, with Indrigan helping him on the ground." High General said. "I am High General Tivennia Va'Xuun and I will be representing the interests of Carvin Empire in this summit."

"Commander, just so you know, she's female." Joker added.

"Now let's get back to the topic at hand." Tivennia turned her head towards the Dalatrass. "You said that there will be no good from curing the genophage. There are a few reasons why you're wrong."

"And what would that be?" Dalatrass returned to her cold attitude.

"First, your species' estimated combat strength." High General replied with what was probably a smirk. "You have incredibly low manpower reserves for your disposal, your fleets are small compared to the other species, and your war machine won't be able to replace the losses you will suffer in time. It will be increasingly difficult for you to replenish your reserves, while the Reapers will be building their army off your corpses."

"Our species has issued mobilization, and we are to have two new cruisers ready by the end of this week." there was something in the Dalatrass' voice that suggested that she was trying to convince herself about that.

"Two cruisers which will be destroyed by exactly two salvos from Reaper Destroyers." Tivennia quickly put her down. "And besides that, your ground troops are extremely underpowered in comparison to the rest of the galaxy. Let's don't lie to ourselves. You NEED allies. And while Krogan might not be the allies you want to have, they can at least pull the pressure off the Turians, who in turn will be able to help you."

"That's a valid point." Victus, who until now was looking at this conversation from the side, now saw Tivennia's reasoning.

"But to GET help, you need to first GIVE some help." she finished. "Or no one will help you when the Reapers show up over your worlds."

"But what happens AFTER the war!?" Dalatrass asked, willing to fight to the bitter end to not let the genophage be cured. "The Krogan will want vengeance! They will expand rapidly, and there will be no one to stop them, as we will all be weakened after the war! My people will be the first target of the Krogan revenge!"

"You're wrong here as well." Tivennia smirked again. "See, that might've been the case if we haven't recently joined in."

"What do you mean by that?" Shepard asked, as he didn't quite understand.

"A balance of powers." she replied. "After the war, we'll all be exhausted, but now Krogan have rivals who could match their ability to quickly rebuild their strength. Us, Carvins. If the Council would pick a side, the species without their support would certainly loose, IF not even go extinct. But if one side would win, that would leave them and the Council species 1 on 1, and the Council can't win without support of the other species, which would now be too weak to support them. In this scenario, the Council, the Carvins, and the Krogan would all point a gun at eachother's heads. No single faction would risk a war with two others, because if one looses, soon another war would errupt, and there would only be one victor." (A/N: I hope you understand what I mean in this. English is not my primary language.)

"So all three races need to exist to maintain balance of powers." Primarch summed up. "A forced cooperation."

"Indeed." High General maintained her smirk, knowing that she was right.

"But there is still one problem." Victus pointed out. "The cure itself. It would take years to formulate it."

"My information says otherwise." Wrex, who didn't speak for quite a while, now walked towards the Primarch and took his place. He pressed a few buttons on a hardlight screen of the table. "A salarian scientist, Maelon, grew a conscience. He was on my planet, testing a cure on our females."

"I remember." Shepard commented, as he rewinded the memories of the horrible experiments he had done to achieve his goals. "His methods were barbaric."

"But what you didn't know is that other females SURVIVED his experiments." Krogan replied. The video started to play. It was in some kind of dark room, but there were clear figures of Salarians standing and walking by the camera. "So the Dalatrass here sent a team to clean up the whole mess - and to take them prisoner."

The camera turned to what looked like some sort of containment cells. Inside them there were few big silhouettes. After the image adjusted to the distance, it was clear that these were female Krogan.

"Where did you get this!?" Dalatrass looked around with panic. "It... It could be a fabrication!"

"Oh yeah? And here I thought your people thought of the Krogan as brutes. I've heard enough of them insulting their intellect. Even you said it yourself: they know only how to wage war." Tivennia teased her again. Shepard realized that she was a dangerous person even in a conversation. She listened to everything and was ready to use it against her opponent whenever they were exposing themselves. "Guess who turned out to be the real fool here."

"Girl, you've got a quad." Wrex commented. He was about to yell at the Dalatrass, but Tivennia's passive-aggressive humiliating tactics changed his mood into similar to hers. He liked her already and realized that the panicked and humiliated Salarians can be more fun to watch than dead ones.

"Dalatrass, is this true?" Victus remained focused.

"How will curing the genophage benefit my people?" Dalatrass asked sarcastically.

"We've been through this before, and you're trying to pointlessly draw out negotiations." Shepard was now seriously pissed about her attitude. "How much do you value your species' survival? Because this is how genophage will benefit your people. You're trying to trade hypothetical and only possible extinction for a certain doom of your species." Dalatrass scratched her forehead with her hand in defeat, but it still looked like if she was fighting with herself, whether to give in or not. "So what's it gonna be?"

"The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'Kesh." she finally broke and when she saw Shepard leave, she added "But I warn you Commander! The consequences of this will be felt for centuries to come!"

That was it. Shepard turned around, walked back to the table, leaned on it, and looked her in the eyes.

"It will be nothing compared to what happens if the Reapers win." he spoke, his voice cold as Pluto.

"Let's get the females." Wrex joined him at his side, eager to leave.

"You're not setting foot on Sur'Kesh! This will take time!" Dalatrass was now seriously outraged, even though nobody cared at this point.

"It happens now!" Victus intervened. "As a Council Spectre, Shepard can oversee the exchange."

"We're going." Shepard stated, to emphasize that there was nothing that could change their decision.

Everyone except the Dalatrass started to leave. She stood there, staring at them. It was clear that she lost, but the bitterness of the defeat was still taking its effects.

"I won't forget this, Commander!" she shouted at the leaving representatives. "A bully has few friends when he needs them most!"

At that moment, Tivennia stopped and turned around. She glared at the Dalatrass for good few seconds, then walked back towards her, staring at her, similarly to Shepard.

"True." she said. "But in the darkest hour like now, a coward has no one."

And with that she left, leaving the Salarian Dalatrass staring at her walking away.

 **Orbit of Qreten, Invasion descryption**

One thing was certain: both sides did their homework before and during the battle. Reapers, after the initial encounter with the Carvins through the Collectors, made sure to bring a big enough fleet to crush Carvin resistance quickly and effectively. During the first day of the conflict, Carvins lost three mining facilities on T0 planets, as well as two small colonies on garden worlds. The latter were partially evacuated, mostly because the last few transports were destroyed by the Reaper ships. Many Carvin captains experienced the devastating effects of their weapons, which could cut most of their ships into pieces with ease.

However, despite all of this, Qreten, the first attacked colony, held firmly and remained a stronghold it became after the Collector attack. When the initial attack came, it was just a small force, to test the Carvin defenses. Reapers couldn't just breeze through their Empire and to their homeworld like they did with the Alliance, Turian Hierarchy, or Batarian Hegemony. Instead, they had to fight for every planet and take small bites of the Carvin teritory in order to win. Carvins knew this too and when the initial mock attack came, two rapid response flotillas were scrambled to ambush the Reapers from the flanks, however no other reinforcements were sent. After intense fighting, most of the Reaper Destroyers were eliminated, while the one Capital Ship that led the attack, managed to retreat into FTL, though heavily damaged.

After this attack, both sides started to analyze their opponents. Reapers now knew that the Carvin spacecraft would be more than a nuisance, because their point-defense systems were designed to protect them from unshielded swarms of expendable fighters, not from high-quality, heavily armored and shielded spacecraft. The Oculi could easily outmaneuver Carvin bombers, though the latter could defend themselves with a rear gunner, while the Carvin fighters were better armed and armored. Another advantage of the Carvin spacecraft, and their energy-based weapons in general, was the fact that while they dealt less actual damage to the Reaper ships, they were rapidly boiling off their armor, meaning that they gradually dealt more and more damage. And after all, Carvins were fighting on their own ground. They knew everything about this system, and had the advantage of rapidly transporting their ships onto the battlefield from other parts of their Empire.

But despite all of these advantages over the Reapers, Carvins were still pushed hard by their adversaries. And while their shields could absorb more damage from their heavier variants of the Thanix cannons, but every single ship that was hit with the beam from a Capital ship, was destroyed anyway. Destroyers were weaker, and both frigates and cruisers could withstand their fire, though frigates only for a short amount of time. Reapers immediately realized the threat of the Ion Cannons on Qreten, and two Destroyers were sent to deal with it. One was destroyed, while the other retreated, but the Ion Cannon was damaged too and had to be repaired. Reapers also immediately focused on destroying the light spacecraft carriers, knowing that Carvins couldn't move their spacecraft across their Empire so easily without them. Out of five present carriers, two were destroyed during the first mock battle.

Both sides knew that one has to bring an overwhelming force to defeat the other, and both planned to do that. One day after the first engagement, the main Reaper assault came, as about a dozen reaper Capital Ships, escorted by multiple Destroyers, came out of FTL dangerously close to the Carvin defenses. This time all of the reinforcements were scrambled. Two rapid response flotillas emerged at the Reaper flanks, but what followed them were two full Carvin fleets. Their ships entered the system dangerously close to the heat of combat and there was a high chance for collision with other ships of both sides. Fortunately all of the ships came out of that maneuver untouched and the might of the Carvin navy was brought upon the Reapers.

As the Reapers expected, Carvin spacecraft was a force to be reckoned with. Even fighting a dozen Capital Ships, they could maintain air superiority with ease. Both light and heavy carriers launched their spacecraft, and the fighter bases on Qreten and in the asteroid belt were only making the matters worse for the Reapers. Oculi were fast and were controlled by the Reapers directly, but they were no match for the overwhelming force of superior fighters and corvettes of the Carvins. Fighters used their weapons to slowly boil out the armor of the enemy ships, while bombers, that couldn't use their main armament effectively, fired their ion torpedos to interfere with the Reaper systems. The Ion Cannon was constantly firing at the Reaper ships, which forced them to send one Destroyer on a suicide run against the nearest cannon one more time. It did its job partially, because the Cannon was disabled, but not completely destroyed, though it would take a lot of time before the Carvins would repair it again.

Just like during the Great Grox War, Carvins followed a simple doctrine when fighting a stronger enemy: if you can't control the battlefield, then prevent the enemy from doing so as well. This is why the orbit of Qreten was filled with constant fighting. In order to loose as little ships as possible, they tried kept their ships in constant motion. If a group of ships was in danger, they jumped away from the system, only to circle around and appear at the exposed flank of the enemy a few minutes later. Heavier vessels like cruisers or dreadnoughts, that couldn't perform such maneuvers effectively, were focusing their fire on single ships to take them down. Because their energy weapons were dealing a lot less damage, despite the complete penetration through the barriers, they used their electromagnetic and ion beams to meddle with the Reaper energy systems. That way the Reaper ships were loosing their barriers at least for some time, which gave the bombers an opening to swarm the defenseless ship and destroy it. Having a complete air superiority this strategy was quite effective, and Reapers retreated after loosing 3 capital ships.

Qreten was now heavily fortified, and its population was armed and ready for any incoming attack. Knowing that another head-on attack would be too costly, Reapers decided to switch their strategy. First, they used the strategy of the Carvins against them. By jumping extremely close to the planet, they would destroy a few ships, then jump back into FTL. This continued for two days. The third day was different. It was time for a full-scale invasion of Qreten. First, Reapers commenced a few smaller attacks on neighboring planets in order to spread the defenders. Carvins realized this pretty quickly, but some of these planets had crucial mining facilities, as well as fighter rearmament stations, therefore couldn't leave them unprotected. Diverting some of their forces from their core worlds, as well as some ships from Qreten, they left the fortressed planet weakened. Now both sides knew that the planet would come under attack very soon.

The great assault began when a shockingly massive fleet of over 20 Capital ships, escorted by Destroyers, jumped out of the FTL near the planet. Reapers chose their approach carefully and started their attack from the side that was unprotected by the Ion cannons, since Carvins couldn't repair the damaged one in time. This time though, they went for a quick breakthrough strategy. A spearhead of 6 Capital ships destroyed multiple Carvin vessels, making an opening for the Destroyers to descend into Qreten's atmosphere and finally begin the ground invasion. Now the true battle of Qreten has begun.

 **Qreten's surface, Capital city, Residential area, Virox's POV**

After the first mocking battle, teams from Taxiliar were sent to the surface in case of a Reaper ground assault. Virox didn't mind this decision, since after two days, they still didn't get any info on the light carrier's status. Perhaps it was better that way. Another reason why he liked this decision was the fact that, at least for a while, he could see the Or'Zaal family. Arill and his wife, Calia (Virox actually managed to remember the name now) were both in active duty, and they've met eachother in the military base in the capital several times. The kids slept at home without parents, but every day they went to the military base for aditional training. When Virox heard the news that both of them got accepted to the army on their desired position, he used his first available free time to quickly visit them and congratulate them. Both seemed exhausted from all the training they've been doing recently, but when they saw him, they greeted him firmly. Zia proposed Virox an arm wrestling match, which he won easily despite her biotics, while Nalik showed him the support drone he managed to piece together.

When the invasion came, Virox and the Embers were on patrol in the Residential area. It was a very dark night, so they used their night vision equipment, even though rarely anyone would be going robbing houses during wartime. Trying to hamper the work of the military and the civilians during wartime was treated almost like treason and was punished severely enough for it to be a very rare occurance. No, Embers were patroling the streets, looking for any remainings of Reaper forces that broke through during the first major assault. All of the troops that Carvins encountered were immediately eliminated when they lost the Reaper signal, but they didn't want any surprises. Speaking of which, at least the ground troops were not completely surprised when the attack came. Even though they were already on high alert, the message about the attack only caused mass mobilization of defense forces on the planet.

Virox and Embers got the message a few seconds before they heard an earpiercing shriek from a Reaper Destroyer descending towards the surface. It was heading to the center of the capital, meaning behind them. However before they could turn back and follow it, they noticed multiple red glowing objects falling down from the sky. Suddenly some of the red objects started to explode after being fired upon from the ground point defense turrets.

"Sir! Enemy rockets!" Ember 2 shouted while pointing at the sky.

"Negative. Too slow for rockets." Virox replied and used his visor to get a closer look at the incoming objects. "Those are drop pods!"

"Well shit." Ember 6 said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"We've got to move now!" his brother exclaimed, as the drop pods were closing in on their position.

All eight of them ran to take cover near the estimated drop zone of the pods. They took cover behind the walls, garbage bins, parked skycars and other vehicles. When the pods landed, the barrage came.

"Don't let up! We need to keep them from securing a foothold!" Virox ordered as more and more Reaper modified troops were crawling out of the craters in the road made by their drop pods.

At first it was relatively easy. Husks were slowly walking in the open, only to get shot easily by the Carvins in cover. However as more drop pods fell down from the sky, they were finding themselves overwhelmed. The Cannibals could actually take a decent amount of damage before falling, but slowly the troops that were dropped into the battlefield were getting better and better. Just over thirty seconds later, first modified turians appeared on the battlefield. Their shields were useless against energy-based weapons, but their superior fighting and positioning was constantly putting pressure on the Carvins.

"Uh, sir!? We can't hold on forever!" Ember 1 shouted from behind a skycar. He was now pinned down by a group of Cannibals. Virox knew this. If they didn't retreat now, they would be overwhelmed and die. But they were keeping the Reapers from gaining a foothold.

"Where is the rest of the city garrison?" he muttered angrily and peaked out to shoot down two more Cannibals.

It seemed that they would be overwhelmed, but then an explosion shook the ground, and a few corpses went flying. The husks turned around towards the supposed source of the explosion... only to see three ATTTs driving straight at them, with the grenade launchers primed and ready to fire. This sudden flanking move disorganized the Reaper forces for a while, which allowed the Ember squad to move closer to the enemy and quickly take them down. After the smoke cleared out, one of the APCs opened up both of its side doors and two squads of soldiers disembarked the vehicle.

"What took you so long?" Ember 6 already started complaining, but then got smacked in the head by his brother.

"Sorry, but these things are everywhere, and we can't spread our forces that thin until more troops are mobilized, or we get reinforcements." one of the soldiers, who looked like a squad leader.

"Well, it's still good you came. I think that without you we wouldn't-" Virox started, but was interrupted by a voice from his comm channel.

"To everyone that hear this! This is Zia Or'Zaal! We're with soldiers in our house near the shopping cen(*static*) -of the residential district! We're being overrun! Help us!"

Virox's heart skipped a beat at that message. From the looks of other soldiers he concluded that they heard the message too. Zia and Nalik were in their house with some soldiers, and could die at any moment. He was not going to let that happen. He was not going to loose another family.

"I know where this is! We've got to move!" he ordered and suprisingly everyone listened. Of course he was probably the highest ranking soldier here, since he got promoted to sergeant after the mission at the outpost. Still, he wasn't used to ordering everyone around. He was afraid that the amount of responsibility he held over his subordinates would eventually paralyze him and make him unable to make reasonable decisions.

"Alright, hold onto the hull. We'll get you there." squad leader replied, then turned to his men. "Move out!"

All soldiers immediately headed back to the APC, while Virox and Embers climbed on the vehicle. Virox sent the coordinates of their destination, and the three vehicles were in motion again. As they were driving, more and more drop pods were falling into the capital. Groups of soldiers were facing mounting numbers of Reaper hordes. From time to time the convoy would assist them with additional firepower, but their objective was to reach the house of the Or'Zaals.

As they were passing by the buildings in flames, and the rubble on the streets, Virox was struck with a horrifying feeling that he had seen something like this before. On Carvistorn. During The Great Grox War. All the memories, all the images of the wrecked home planet were now visualizing themselves in his head. The feeling that the Reapers were here to repeat that, was sending chill down his spine.

Finally after roughly two minutes of driving, the shopping center of the residential district was now in sight. It was now on fire as well, but what caught the attention of the soldiers were the sounds of firefight and explosions coming from somewhere nearby.

"Turn left here." Virox instructed through his comms. "We're almost there."

He now recognized the area, however it was in a really bad shape. The local shops were wrecked, and the small park, that used to stand out with all the green, was now only a bunch of burning trees. But the peak of his horror, saddness and anger was reached when he finally saw the Or'Zaal house. Now it was less of a house and more of a bunker. Barricades and trenches were set up around it, with a heavy laser gun nest in one of the windows. Around a dozen soldiers were now laying constant fire, keeping the advancing Reaper forces at bay. However the hordes of mindless husks were still pressing the advantage, relentlessly crawling onto the barricades. Virox couldn't let them die.

As the enemies came into their effective range, the convoy opened fire. Grenade launchers started spewing explosives, effectively holding the Reaper assault. Meanwhile Virox and the Embers jumped off the vehicles and commenced a counterattack. Husks, surprised by this sudden offensive, tried to respond, but then the APC's pulled over and six more squads started to disembark and join the fight. The superior firepower and the swift counterattack quickly eliminated the bulk of the assault.

Virox quickly headed into the house after giving one wounded soldier a dose of medi-gel. The interior looked no better than the fortifications outside. Apparently most of the furniture was used to make barricades. Now the house was almost empty, with only stretchers for wounded lying here and there. The windows were partially covered in metal plates, leaving small openings to shoot from. The hatch to the basement (which also functioned as a shelter in case of invasion or catastrophe) was open and Virox could hear the intense conversations going on. He quickly holstered his weapon and went down the ladder to check on the soldiers inside... only to be met with a hug from Zia.

"Uncle Virox!" she screamed joyfully and rammed into him, nearly knocking him off balance.

"Hey Zia!" he patted her on the head, though he was not used to this kind of physical contact. "What happened to your badass attitude?"

She let him go and Virox noticed Nalik walking from the small crowd of medics that gathered in the shelter. As he looked at both of them, he noticed multiple cuts and bruises on their heads and chests. In such a short amount of time they already tasted the true combat. Zia looked at him with saddness in her eyes and pointed at the ladder. She and Nalik started climbing up and he followed them in silence.

"Hey, where are your parents anyway? Somewhere in the city? Have you contacted them?" he tried to change the topic. "They'd like to know that you're..."

But he stopped as the kids led him to a corner of the house, where one lonely Carvin was leaning against a wall, covered in his own blood, with his eyes closed. Virox stared at him and saw that he was a soldier, from the fact that he was wearing standard armor and helmet. But it was the dog tags that revealed the horrifying truth. It was their father, Arill Or'Zaal.

"Grenade was thrown into our house. Dad pushed us back from it, but took the most of it on himself." Nalik spoke, though he was stuttering.

"Is... is he dead?" Virox asked, even though he could check it in a few seconds through his visor. He couldn't believe that he was loosing his new family already.

"Mom says that he's in coma. Severe brain damage or something." Zia replied, her whole body shaking a little bit.

Virox just stared at his friend, who was now lying helplessly on the ground. It was the first real day of the invasion and he lost one member of his new family again. Then saddness was replaced by anger. He was furious that his history was about to repeat. He would not let it happen again. His cybernetic fists were clenched so hard, that the high-pitched scratching from friction between the metal plates was heard quite loudly. However one voice brought him back to reality.

"Well, out of all the soldiers I expected to get here, I thought you would be the first." Calia appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere. She smirked lightly as Virox turned around. Her hands were all covered in blue Carvin blood. "You're late."

"Calia..." Virox barely managed to get the words through his throat. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You couldn't have been here when this happened. And you just drove off a bunch of bastards that might've just killed us all." she walked closer, her expression turning from relaxed to caring. "I'm happy that we managed to save his life. Don't be so hard on yourself. You've got more important things to worry about right now."

As she said that, Virox's earpiece came to life, first with the sounds of gunfire which then turned into the voice of one of the Embers.

"Sarge, this is Ember 1. Another wave just landed near our position, and two out of three APCs that got us here left. We could use your help here."

"Copy that, I'm coming." Virox replied and headed to the door, but stopped when he saw Zia and Nalik following him. "You better stay here."

"We can take care of ourselves!" Zia snapped, seemingly quite hurt by that statement. He still wanted to argue, but Calia came to their help.

"Don't hold them back, Virox. You can't protect them forever. The sooner they see what the combat really is, the better will be their chances of survival." she said, while staring at him with a look saying 'Don't you even try to argue.'

"Alright, fine. Just do as I say and we'll-" he started, but then he felt like if his head was about to explode. An earpiercing shriek of infrasound struck him, and he fell on the ground in pain. The voice grew louder, making the head feel not like exploding, but like if it was being mashed into a pulp. Both Zia and Nalik, as well as Calia fell on the ground, holding their heads. When the noise stopped, he still felt buzzing in his head. He barely managed to get up despite the dizziness. But before he managed to help the kids up, the muffled voice reached his ears.

"Incoming!"

The ground started to shake, and another loud voice was heard. The shaking was getting stronger, as was the noise. Virox looked out the window, only to see a red beam heading towards the house. Without a second thought, he grabbed Zia and Nalik by their arms and pulled to himself, while Calia, who somehow realized what was going on, leaped in the opposite direction. The powerful beam hit the house and sliced it in half, but Virox and the kids somehow managed to leave the blast radius, though they felt incredible heat from the beam. Virox was somehow less affected by that, since he had his shields.

Finally the beam disappeared and Virox slowly stood up. The molten metal that the Reaper was firing was now rapidly solidifying, and the rubble from the upper floor and the roof had fallen to the ground, blocking him from reaching the second part of the house.

"Calia...?" he let out, though his voice was weak. After no response, he turned on his comms. "Calia?"

However it was not her voice that gave the reply.

"Sir! Are you alright?" someone from the Ember team literally shouted into the microphone. "Sir!"

"I'-*cough* I'm fine." he replied, his throat completely dry.

"The enemy is everywhere! We need to retreat! Now!" another one screamed.

Virox was about to protest, but then he noticed Zia and Nalik moving on the ground. They were groaning in pain, and their backs had signs of serious burns. He kneeled beside them and activated his omni-tool to administer the medi-gel on their skin.

"Wh-Where is mom?" Zia let out a wheeze through her dry throat.

He didn't know how to anwser. Calia was probably dead. Their father was in coma and he wouldn't be able to reach him in time, let alone get him out of this killzone. But he couldn't stop thinking that if Calia was alive, he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't try to save her.

"Calm down, we'll find her." he tried to sound convincing, but the voices from outside hurt him almost as much as the thought of the kids loosing both of their parents.

"Sarge! We're gonna die here! 6 is hit! Badly!"

"Hold on for just a moment!" Virox shouted back and was about to climb on the wreckage that blocked him from reaching the other part of the house, but a quiet, yet loud enough to hold him in place.

"Virox." that was Calia's voice comming from his earpiece. "You mus-*cough* *cough* go."

"Bullshit, I'm not leaving without you and Arill!" he snapped.

"If you don't, your team will die." she spoke, but the signal was getting worse. "Get Zia and Nalik to safety."

"But..." he tried to protest, but Calia interrupted.

"Do it! For me and Arill." she almost begged. "I'll hold on with the remaining soldiers and civilians in our shelter. I'll take care of him. Now go!"

Virox's mind went crazy. The words 'Go!', 'For me and Arill', and 'Get Zia and Nalik to safety', were echoing in his mind as one seemingly unintelligible mess.

*CRACK*

But he understood every single word. He was not going to get the kids killed. He wouldn't be the doom of his team. Calia's words were orders for him now. And he planned to obey.

"Everyone! Prepare to retreat!" he shouted outside and after helping Zia up, he grabbed the still weak Nalik and started carrying him, while his sister limped behind them.

The guns were blazing outside as the Embers were almost completely overrun. They tried to hold their position, but now three out of seven soldiers were wounded severely enough to not be able to use their rifles. Husks were now crawling on the barricades, eager to slaughter the defenders.

"Where the hell is the sergeant!?" Ember 7 screamed, as he tried to stop the bleeding on the chest of his wounded brother.

"We need to retreat! To hell with whatever he's still doing there!" Ember 2 added, as his weapon overheated and the disc popped up to cool the weapon. But then, as the husks were almost at the top of the barricade, a shockwave of incredible force knocked back the attackers. Embers turned around to see Zia still glowing from the biotic attack she performed, and Virox with Nalik on his back.

"Roger that, private." the former said in complete seriousness and waved his hand at them. "Now let's go! Move!"

For the first time in their lives, the Embers were that happy to follow an order. They gathered their weapons and helped the limping members of their team to run faster. As the group continued running through the buildings, Zia started to slow down. Her biotic shockwave has exhausted her greately and she tried to catch her breath. But as two more soldiers passed next to her, she felt a strong force grabbing her from the side. It was one of the Embers, who was now carrying her in his arms.

"Hey! Put me down! I can run by myself." she tried to liberate herself from the grip. Unsuccessfully.

"Yeah? And let you slow us down so that the Reapers get to us? Or leave you here to die?" soldier asked with sarcasm. "Nah, I think I value my life enough to risk your temporary irritation, kid."

Zia was about to argue more, but then she saw the real meaning of what he said. Virox would never forget it if they left her, and would never forgive them either. She looked at her uncle, who was now carrying her brother. His expression translated to cold determination that she actually never seen before, but it seemed that the Embers did. He'd do anything to complete his mission. Now the only thing Zia could do was help him do it by not dying. She actually found the arms of the soldier carrying her quite comfortable now.

She now gazed at the sky, which was completely black, but was brightened by the laser cannons blazing, fighters exploding, and Reapers descending onto the planet. Virox told them that something like this would happen, but at this moment she realized how right he was. She just hoped that she'd survive. If this meant that they'd get out of this nightmare alive, and maybe see their parents again, being carried by a much older guy from the military was a small price she was willing to pay.

 **A/N: Aaaaaaaaand done. FINALLY! BALLS, this took long! I'm happy that I actually managed to upload it by the beggining of this week and not have any homework problems. Hope you like it and HOPEFULLY I can get the next chapter out reasonably soon. Eh... at least school is going to end in two weeks. Salutes from your forever mentally scarred writter. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	5. War escalates

**A/N: Hello there everyone. I'm bac. Finally after rewriting the first chapter, and I have to say... oh boy... that was difficult. At first I just stared at that chapter and said "Are you kidding me? How was I that bad?" then I just sighed and got to work. The problem was fixing the plot so that it didn't look like if it was written by a 10 year old. Now I changed it so it was more probable. Still it's only the first chapter. I think that I will be rewriting two more chapters and doing some minor corrections to the rest of the chapters. I'm also planning to make the first chapter more detailed, explaining in depth the history of the Carvins. But one at the time. Given the time it took me to rewrite the first one, I think I'll be writing those chapters in a 2 to 1 ratio (2 chapters of the sequel and 1 rewrite).**

 **Since the beggining of these stories I've been doing playthroughs to support myself and find inspiration. But recently I discovered a great mod to ME3, Expanded Galaxy Mod. I love how it enhances gameplay, makes the game itself more immersive, and it feels like there's really a war going on. I recommend playing with that mod, but I'm also taking some inspiration from the mod itself (ex. Industrial Support in the War Assets). Credits go to the Expanded Galaxy Mod crew, since many of these things are just their ideas adopted for the purpose of this story.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: Thank you. I really liked the idea of Carvins actually bringing balance of powers to that equation. Also I know that you're hyped on that, but there are a few bounds as to what I can do with the Carvins in Andromeda. First of all, 600 years is a lot, even for Carvins. To sustain a single individual without cryostasis would be extremely costly, and the resources on the arks are limited. That also brings me to your point of building a fleet... you don't find resources to build ships just floating around in dark space. And where the heck would they even build the ships? Carvins joined the Andromeda Initiative and had to follow strict rules as to what they can take on the Ark. And since they only had a year to construct a dreadnought-sized ship, they couldn't waste time making new designs and just went with the standard Ark design but repurposed for their physiology and needs. Although if you read carefully enough, there was a group of ships that followed the Arks. Feel free to speculate. However as for the story regarding ME: Andromeda that I was planning to write... well there are a few other story ideas in my head now, which are more appealing to me at the moment than that one. I'm afraid I'll have to postpone that story at best... or call it off at worst. I'm sorry, but the truth is, I'm still finding new interests, discovering new stories, ETC. Plz understand and don't lynch me.**

 **Neobenm: While your review on the first story was somewhat constructive and was regarding the plot mistakes I'm going to fix soon, your review now is not just not constructive. It's pointless. If you don't like the story then leave, not go and bitch at the author that his ideas don't match your perfect vision of a story. In other words, if you're gonna write bitchy reviews just because you're angry, in the immortal words of Winston Churchill, Ron Weasley and many other people - PISS OFF.**

 **Also I just want to mention something. See, while writing previous chapters, I got an idea to give 'musical themes' to particular moments, battles, etc. Mind the fact that the purpose of these songs is to help shape the atmosphere of these moments, and the story itself. The tracks will be chosen based on two things. First being lyrics and how they could relate to a certain moment. The second is just the music (like if there's an action-packed moment, there will be a music theme to it that will emphasize that). Please bare with my (probably) poor taste for music, and the fact that multiple tracks will be from Sabaton. They just do damn good war-themed music. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONGS! THEY BELONG TO THE RESPECTIVE ARTISTS MENTIONED BELOW! Plz no kill me Fanfiction.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Reaction of the Carvin Empire to the Reaper Invasion**

When the first attacks commenced and the Empire had lost a few colonies on the outer borders, the Carvins immediately reacted. The previously issued partial mobilization has been replaced with adopting a war economy, and conscription was doubled. Over a half of the Carvin industry was now producing materials for the war effort, while almost a quarter of the civilian industry was now being repurposed to support the war. The non-critical colonies on the borders of the Empire were either falling fast or were quickly evacuated and the resources being stockpiled in the heavily fortified core worlds.

The situation on the different worlds varied depending on their location in the Empire, as well as the risk of being targeted by the Reapers. Outer worlds, if big enough, were fortified, and crucial industry was either moved or was working around the clock to produce as much for the war effort as possible. Martial law has been declared on all the outer colonies, while only civilians who were more important to the war effort than an average citizen (scientists, company founders, etc.), were allowed, and sometimes even forced to leave the planet. Agricultural colonies were forced to be giving away a quarter of their crops to the military without payment. In exchange however the new conscription laws didn't apply to the citizens of these worlds, and only volounteers were drafted. Industrial powerhouses were being fortified almost as much as the outer worlds in order to prepare for the inevitable attack. However workers of all industrial companies, both imperial and private, were forced to work roughly 30% more hours in exchange for a 20% higher pay. Given a morally questionable approach of the Carvins to their prisoners, those were either sent to work in the industry, or remained in labour camps, but worked almost two times more (A/N: Carvin prisons are basically labour camps [DO NOT MISTAKE WITH THE NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS!]. Prisoners don't get to sit around doing nothing and eat for the money of the taxpayers. They have to somehow make up for what they did.). Finally there was the Carvin homeworld, Carvistorn. Ironically, the homeworld had the highest conscription imposed, and had to work the most. Industry of Carvistorn was focused on two particular things: aiding the colonies, and production of ships and weapons. Because it probably had more time than most Carvin worlds, it didn't bother with as much fortification, partially because it was already fortified. After The Great Grox War and a second expansion of the Carvin Empire, an agreement was made between the High Generals that Carvistorn should always be the most fortified world. It had an underground network of bunkers running across the entire planet, with trains under the ocean linking all continents, specially designed food plantations, anti-matter and nuclear reactors on the lowest level. The defense systems were always up to date and better. Carvins promised themselves that their homeworld would never fall again. And they were determined to make sure of that.

As the need arose for new weapons, munitions and technological solutions, various private companies have gained much on this war. Particularly, a relatively young weapon contractor, Darinas Armaments has created several prototypical weapons based on the mass effect technology. Their projects didn't get much attention until the end of 2185, when Commander Shepard delivered a report on the Reapers, and the standard weaponry seemed to not be enough to effectively allow Carvin soldiers to fight them. The company's first appreciated child was the Void-02 Thanix shotgun, field-tested for the first time right before the first attack on Qreten. These shotguns have proven incredibly effective, since the close-quarters combat has become a norm while fighting Reaper husks, therefore six civilian factories were now being repurposed for the military needs of Darinas Armaments.

The company itself has begun working on another project, as the need for a new kind of weapon arose. Given the fact that the Reapers utilize masses of expendable husks to overwhelm the enemy, the lack of effective suppressing fire, area denial weapons, and support weapons in general started to become visible. Carvin rapid fire laser cannons required portable batteries that were heavy and difficult to transport, especially in combat, and aside from taking down heavily armored foes like Brutes or Ravagers, they've been having little effect on the hordes of husks. Now the Carvin Empire had announced a need for a more reliable, compact and effective suppressing fire weapon, and the new Tirius Light Machine Gun, named after the founder of Darinas Armaments, was one of the top candidates to become the new standard support weapon.

Because of how effective the Thanix-based weapons turned out to be, Carvin Empire has invested a lot into its nationalized contractors to produce some prototypical munitions. Carvin fighting against the individual Reaper capital ships was brought down to boiling their armor off with laser weaponry, then temporarly disabling their shields by either a planetary cannon, a concentrated fire from ion beams of battlecruisers, EMP torpedos, or a single shot from a dreadnought. Then the bombers would swarm the vulnerable Reaper and bring it down with their heavy munitions. The problem was the 'heavy' part. Given the fact that Carvin bombers possessed severely underpowered armament, except for ion/EMP torpedos which were crucial, the Thanix missiles and torpedos were a concept for a powerful collection of weapons.

However the time to produce such munitions was needed, as the Thanix munitions were a new concept, and the Carvins haven't really been stockpiling that kind of ammo for such purposes. Carvin Empire needed time to adopt new tech to their fighting force, but the Reapers were pushing on their borders hard, constantly weakening their desperately needed industry. Nevertheless, Carvin military analytics started to come up with a plan to buy the Empire some time. A dangerous and costly plan. A gamble that could be the doom their species or their salvation. Given the fact that the Reapers were heavily focusing on the highly populated planets, and only striking the facilities that would cripple their enemies on big colonies, there was a way to lure them in. Qreten, being a stronghold, where none of the sides was a clear winner, as well as being located relatively close to the Mass Relay network, would be the perfect trap. Now, the only thing left to do was to place the bait in place.

 **Lexaant system, Orbit of Carvistorn, Carvistorn military shipyards, command bridge of the Ruthless - the flagship of High General Tivennia**

Carvins were incredibly stubborn when it came to their technological progress, but it wasn't a traditional stubbornness. If there was a new class of battleship, they would start with building a few test vessels, then rebuilding the existing warships until the every last one of them was changed into a new model. The same doctrine was applied when the Relentless-class dreadnought was introduced. First, Carvin shipyards built the twin ships: Relentless and Ruthless. The former was given to Seviros after his promotion to High General, while the fate of Ruthless was to become the flagship of Tivennia, who recieved this honor as well shortly after. However, just like with Carvin physiology, just because the Ruthless was led by a woman, it didn't mean that she was worse than her twin sister. It was customized by Tivennia herself to fit the aggressive combat tactics she and her space forces liked to employ. They were known for their deadly skill in a close-range space combat, and both the power cells, the reactors and the engines were upgraded in a way to allow the ship for a far greater mobility than other vessels of this type, without sacrificing the shield strength or the armor thickness. It was expensive, but created the reputation of Tivennia's forces that they like to kill the enemy while looking them in the eye.

Nevertheless, while fighting with Reapers using such tactics, it was inevitable for the ships to sustain damage, and Ruthless proved that she could take a beating. She was now in the naval repair yard along with the part of Tivennia's fleet. High General still could coordinate her forces from there, but every hour of her ships' absence on the battlefield was giving the Reapers more opportunities to attack the Outer rim planets and head closer to the Empire's core.

However right now she wasn't focused on leading her troops. She was called on a meeting of High Generals regarding the current situation with the war. At first the High General Council was discussing the war and how should the Carvin Empire contribute to the summit they promised to attend. But soon it changed track to the safety of the Empire itself. Particularly, modernizing their forces to combat the new threat, as well as keep the population engaged in the war. Without the public support for war, they were doomed to fail.

"How long till the conscripts will get to Qreten?" Seviros asked.

"That depends on how quickly, or how many repairs Tivennia decides to make. We need the combined strength of both fleets to lure at least some of the Reaper capital ships from the surface. Without it, many of them won't land in one piece, and we want a living bait." Indrigan, the leader of the ground defense of Qreten spoke. "We can't give you cover from the ground. Our forces won't be able to support them, since our ground-to-space weapons have been completely destroyed."

The plan was to gather a large amount of ships from Seviros' fleet and Tivennia's fleet at Qreten, then after the Reapers left the surface, send in over a million and half soldiers to the surface to reinforce the defense. Reapers attracted to this large amount of genetic material, would focus on Qreten, keeping them all in one place. Carvins would then destroy the ships in the system... but the way to do so was still not settled.

"You know that if we do what you proposed, Seviros, we'll loose a lot of public support." one of the High Generals pointed out. "Out of all people, I never expected you to come up with something like this. Not after what happened during The Great Grox War."

"Traditional firepower won't be enough to destroy the Reapers. We need to think outside the box." Sevirox replied. "And since when do we care so much about the morality of our actions that help us succeed?"

"Since the day that hiding something like this won't be possible!" another one shouted. "People will find out sooner or later, and the more we'll delay it, the more angry they'll be when they find out! Propaganda won't be enough this time! And our reputation as a species will be shattered!"

"Well, maybe instead of worrying about loosing the war support, why don't we try to raise it now, so that IF we decide to do it the way Seviros wants, the sudden drop won't be that impactful." Tivennia suggested.

"And how do you expect to do that?" Kraytt, the skeptic of the bunch spoke.

"In every war there are heroes. Individuals or groups of individuals that inspire the masses and make an example for the others." she replied calmly. "Take Commander Shepard for example. His mere presence is inspiring those who follow him, because they know that he cares and that he's ready to fight until the Reapers are defeated. Not to mention how he saved the galaxy from the Reapers when Sovereign attacked, or when he took down the Collector Base."

"And now we'll find our own heroes." Indrigan added, finally understanding where she was going. "But who will be our hero?"

"It doesn't have to be one. The more examples of bravery, determination, will to fight and sacrifice we find, the better." Tivennia explained. "Besides, we don't necessarily need to only create our own model of a hero. The N7 from the Alliance has been accepting all who want to combat the Reaper threat and have the qualifications to fight. If we just send our own special forces teams to join the N7, we'll not only contribute more to the summit we joined, but also, with a bit of propaganda, glorify their deeds and set them as an example to others."

"That could work... but won't be enough. We can't expect the people to follow us just because we add our people to the 'Heroes Club'." Seviros pointed out. "However, I think that what we need is an example of unity within the Carvin Empire itself."

"And by that you mean..." one of the High Generals asked.

"Creating a force composed of some of the best soldiers from the fighting forces of us High Generals. It can be a division, a flotilla, an organized force of spec-ops teams, but what's important is that we show our people the power of unity, and encourage them to harness it." Seviros said. "This force would have to fight on the front lines, but strike where they can succeed. We won't win people's support if we show them our failures."

"It's a good idea, but reorganizing our fleets now to look for the best forces might not be the best idea." Indrigan commented. "An elite land division is at lower risk of loosing men and equipment if commanded properly. And if we show our citizens the bravery that our soldiers show on the front lines, the effect will only be greater."

"Yes, a division that could strike fast, strike hard, and strike the Reapers where it hurts." Tivennia approved. "A highly mechanized unit with superior air support and latest equipment would be extremely effective against the Reaper ground forces."

"I can provide the air support!" a proposition was given.

"And I can send some of my best recon teams!" someone else suggested.

"My most skillful engineers can join too!" another one added.

There was a few minute conversation about who will give what to the new division, but one thing was certain: this was a major victory. The fact that all High Generals were willing to give away some of their best resources for this, proved that they haven't forgotten who they were. They were Carvins. They would fight together, suffer together, win together and die together.

 **Krogan DMZ, Aralakh System, Orbit of Tuchanka, SSV Normandy Sr-2, Captain's Cabin.**

The last few days have been busy as hell for Shepard. Normandy has been searching various systems in order to gather as many survivors and volounteers for the war effort, and slowly but steadily this war started to shape itself into a real war, not a slaughter. The question was: how long would it last? Well, the way Shepard saw it was, even though he could forge an alliance between the Krogan and the Turians, this would only buy them some time, not stop the Reapers completely. It would probably be no different with other species. Every single new member of the alliance would probably delay the inevitable extinction cycle, allowing the Crucible to be constructed and used properly.

Because the Normandy has been outfitted with sophisticated technology to analyze the tactical data as well as estimate the strength of the newly acquired assets, Shepard managed to get a better idea of how were their forces looking. Humans, being the ones who found the Crucible plans and who started the whole 'galactic summit' thing, have contributed a significant portion of their power for the war effort, and it was clearly visible. Carvins also dedicated a few strike flotillas and scientists, but High General Tivennia informed that they will be able to contribute more only if the Empire would have time to regroup, and preemptively reassured the Commander that he doesn't need to come up with a solution since the plan was already in motion. While it might have just been delusional, but seeing the numbers rising slowly yet steadily really felt like they were making a difference.

It was good meeting some old friends again too. Shepard never would've expected Jack of all people to become a teacher, but seeing her with these students put a big smile on his face, even though he was wearing a helmet. Still, despite having such a teacher, he wouldn't have forgiven himself if they died because he let them fight on the front lines. It was a painful decision, which greately upset the students, bit he had to assign them to support roles. It wasn't going to have as much direct impact on the enemy, but their support could save lives of people that could continue to fight.

Another pleasant reunion was on a world behind the Rachni Relay. Grunt had grown up a lot, and gained a few scars too. That big Krogan baby now started to boss around a group of Krogan, and like with Jack, Shepard felt a warm feeling of pride. Moments like these were like wood to a fire of hope that helped them move forward and fight. Not giving a strong flame, but lasted for longer. Shame that his company didn't make it from Utukku, but the support that their sacrifice secured was worth it. Shepard didn't expect to see the Rachni queen for at least ten years. She promised to disappear until the Galaxy was ready for the return of the Rachni. Nevertheless, as the saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And she seemed to appreciate that Shepard saved her 3 years ago. From what Hackett told him, her workers started to assist with construction of the Crucible, while her soldiers were performing hit-and-run strikes on the Reaper forces in the Human and Turian theaters thanks to the new quantum entanglemen communicator that Normandy delivered on one of the planets that the queen chose as her new breeding area. The reports suggested that they were a devastating force against the husks.

Between all these missions, Ashley was recovering from that stunt on Mars. She regained consciousness after a few days and asked Shepard if he could visit. That day they sorted things out. She accepted the fact that he defected from Cerberus for good, while he didn't blame her for her caution. Past is past and they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

However not everything was all nice and easy. When Shepard dealt with the bomb on Tuchanka, he felt that there was still much distrust between various members of the summit. Wrex had lashed out at Victus when he found out that Turians planted a bomb on his planet, while primarch tried to convince him that the times were different and that this action came from desperation after the Krogan Rebellions. Only Shepard's intervention stopped the hostilities. The summit's integrity was almost destroyed, and he feared that if that was enough to jeopardize the alliance, then this war could be awfully short.

The most interesting thing that occured recently though was their mission on Eden Prime. If Shepard had to be honest, revisiting that colony was a strange experience. It all began here. Seeing it first ravaged by Saren and the Geth, then terrorized by Cerberus made him furious. These people have suffered enough, and he wanted to stop it. Thankfully, apart from the prothean artifact located there, he managed to find some valuable intel that helped these people drive Cerberus off world. As for the artifact itself... well, it turned out to be something they didn't expect. A living Prothean in a cryostasis pod.

One can figure out how Liara reacted if they met her at least once. As Joker quite accurately said it, she was 'bouncing' from excitement to ask him questions. Well, maybe not literally, but you could see the flash of excitement in her eyes. Prothean called himself Javik, and thanks to his ability to read the information just by touch, he quickly managed to blend in. Ok, 'blend in' might be too much, but at least he was talking with others. When Liara and Shepard were talking with him about his past and the fall of Prothean Empire as well as the 'primitives ruling the galaxy in this cycle', upon mentioning the Carvins, Javik briefly changed expression from a cold and annoyed one to a tense and nervous one, but quickly returned to his previous expression. After this talk he sent Shepard a message to talk in his cabin about the war and the Carvins in particular.

It was 19:27 of the ship time and Shepard had already called Javik to his cabin. He was going through the ship models he has been collecting for a long time, and fed his space hamster Jerry, when he heard a quiet beep of the door. The Prothean himself has arrived.

"Commander." he simply said.

"Javik? You wrote that you wanted to talk about the war." Shepard said.

"Yes. I still can't believe I have to type in letters to send messages. How primitive." he grumbled with annoyance, which made Shepard smirk a bit. "But back to the topic. I have read the rough history of the galaxy your AI provided me. Your goverment on the Citadel is weak. They will not try and unify against the Reapers until the safety of their people is assured. We both know it is impossible."

"Can't argue with that." Shepard replied.

"However, there are two things in particular that interest me." he said.

"And that is?" Commander asked.

"The Carvins. And your Carvin friend that was on this ship." Javik replied started walking around the room. "You do not know it, but the Grox that Carvins fought, and who were apparently never seen by the rest of the galaxy... well, they existed in my cycle."

"Yeah, but you also said that us humans, asari, salarians and turians have been present." Shepard pointed out, but the Prothean shook his head.

"No. As a spacefaring race."

This caught Shepard's attention. A species that attacked the Carvins, who have never revealed themselves to the rest of the Galaxy, apparently survived the previous extinction cycle. The big question was obviously: how? The next thought was: could the galaxy somehow duplicate the effect of what they did and survive too?

"They were your... allies? Subservient race?" he asked.

"Our enemy. The worst one after the Reapers." Javik said. "From what I was told after I was born, the Empire had discovered the Grox on the outskirts of the Galactic Core region."

"It matches what Virox told us before. They were apparently inhabiting the area around the Core." Shepard noted.

"Yes. Because there were no Mass Relays there, they had to find another way to traverse the Galaxy. These 'wormholes' that they use to travel, made them independent from the Mass Relay network." Javik continued. "When we demanded their surrender and their worlds absorbed to the Prothean Empire, their ships came out of nowhere and destroyed multiple crucial instalations all across the Empire."

"Let me guess. Then the full-scale war broke out." Shepard said and Prothean nodded.

"Despite them being independent from the Mass Relays, our economy was far greater, and their ground forces were severely underpowered. The Grox needed a counter." Javik explained. "And after a few years, the first soldiers were bred by the Grox. It was the first time we had encountered Carvins. Those soldiers were controlled by the Grox, who used a signal that imposed loyalty on the Carvins, and if cut off, the Carvins would die. We couldn't break this safeguard."

"Are you suggesting they uplifted them? Or took a few members of their species and modified them to suit their needs?" Commander asked.

"No. From what our intelligence found out, they were designed from the basics." Prothean shook his head.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Carvins as a species are over 7 billion years old. That's what their history says anyway." Shepard was now really confused. The origin of the Carvins was intriguing him before, but now it just took a whole new form.

"I do not know it either, but one thing was for certain. The Grox were masters of deception and deceit. The intelligence of an individual of their species was far greater than of any species that was part of the Empire. With the access to the anomalies near the Galactic Core, they probably discovered things that allowed them to technologically surpass us in multiple areas. There were cases of entire fleets disappearing." Javik said. "However, just a few years before the arrival of the Reapers, our intelligence services have created a virus that managed to spread across the entire Grox network, disrupting the connection with all the soldiers." he stopped for a moment. "About 85% of the entire population of the Carvins was killed. The rest were released from the control, but became disoriented and started to fight both us and the Grox, only wanting to survive."

Now everything was getting more and more twisted. Dozens of thoughts were now on Shepard's mind. Who exactly were Carvins? How did they come to be? So many things contradicting one another, making it more and more complicated. Did Virox, or even the entire Carvin Empire actually realize who they really were? Are the Grox still out there, and if yes, what do they want?

"But there is another thing." Javik said after a pause. "Your Carvin friend."

"What about him?" Shepard asked.

"I could feel the mark he left with his presence on this ship. He has went through a lot of pain. I felt that his mind was broken."

"Virox suffers from a split personality since we hit the Collector Base. He never recovered." Shepard explained.

"But I also felt something else. He possesses some memories that are not his own, yet were unlocked not so long ago." Javik continued. "Perhaps those will be crucial to understanding their legacy. However I must warn you, Commander. Be way, because the nature of the Carvins makes them unpredictable. No one knows what will happen if they find out who... or what exactly they really are. And if you meet him again, do not speak of this conversation to him."

"Noted." Shepard nodded, but he had a feeling that Javik was hiding something. He knew more, yet didn't say everything. Nevertheless there was nothing that could be done to solve this now. They had to focus on the issues at hand. "I think we should be going. Wrex is getting impatient about curing the Genophage. Wish us luck."

"There was no such thing as luck in my cycle." Prothean replied visibly annoyed.

'Very optimistic, these Protheans.' I thought and entered the elevator along with Javik. This was going to be one for the history books. Curing the Genophage, and the Krogan coming to save the Galaxy again... hopefully.

 **Qreten's surface, Colony's capital city, Carvin field HQ in the industrial district**

"Watch out!" someone screamed as the heavy laser turret nest in the defense section 2 just exploded after being bombarded by Ravagers.

The field HQ was now under a heavy assault from the Reaper forces. Husks and Brutes were crawling on the street in front of the entrenched Carvins, serving as a shield for the advancing Cannibals and Marauders, while Ravagers were providing heavy artillery support. This facility was the only base of operations for the Carvin troops in this district. If this one fell, Carvins would quickly loose control over the entire district.

"Ember team! Divert to reinforce the section 2!" the voice of the commander echoed in their headphones.

"Roger!" Virox shouted back to his mic, then turned towards his team. "Alright, guys! We're moving in twos! Two, Six, you go first!"

"Yes sir!" Two soldiers on the far left nodded and stopped firing at the incoming husks, while Virox organized the rest.

"Covering fire!"

The squad obeyed and the soldiers changed their targets from Husks to Cannibals and Marauders. This gave Ember 2 and 6 an opening to quickly run through the badly damaged trenches and reach the weakened section 2.

"In position, sir!" Ember 2 reported.

"Copy that!" Virox shouted back and turned towards the other squadmates. "One, Five, you go next! The rest, covering fire!"

Despite the seemingly endless waves of Reaper husks, the section 1 from where they were being diverted, was holding pretty well. All three heavy laser turret nests were still operational, and the hastly built fortifications were constantly being reinforced. Absence of one squad would not hamper the defense in that area as much. Embers repeated the pattern one more time, before Virox himself started moving towards his team. When he finally reached them, he understood why his team has been redirected here. Out of three full squads defending this section, one has been wiped out, another had only 2 soldiers left, while only the third one was on its full combat strenght.

"Grenade launchers! Target the groups of Cannibals and Marauders!" Virox ordered and his team obeyed instantly. Their barrel-mounted grenade launchers came to life and spewed out a salvo of deadly explosives. Almost the entire second line was disrupted. Not destroyed, but the explosions were enough to stagger the ranged hostiles for long enough to give Carvins some time.

"Six, man that laser turret! We need those Brutes dead!" Virox called out, as he blasted two more Husks.

"Rog'!" Ember 6 quickly ran towards the blasted nest. Surprisingly or not, the turret itself was still operational. He quickly started it up then targeted the advancing Brutes and fired for a devastating effect. Brute's chest armor was beggining to melt, and after hitting the head once, it exploded. It was clear that while these turrets were severely underpowered against the groups of targets, they definitely had the punch to quickly take out single armored enemies.

With much of the main threat neutralized, the defenders quickly dispatched the remaining enemies. Ember 6 managed to take out two Ravagers on the rear, but the rest, along with a group of Marauders and Cannibals, retreated. It was over... for now.

"Teams Ember and Maardin are to report to the Major." an announcement could be heard through the comms.

"You heard it. Let's move!" Virox waved at them and the squad crawled its way out of the trenches, which were now being filled with replacement squads.

As they were walking towards the command center, they saw how bad the situation was. Most of the soldiers here were either local garrison or conscripts. Almost no actual soldiers. They were fighting the enemy they were never trained to face. But... was any of them actually prepared for this? Out of the entire fighting force on Qreten, or hell almost in the entire Carvin Empire, Virox was the only one who had some reasonable amount of experience with Reapers. First battle of Qreten was not enough to prepare the entire Empire for the Reaper invasion. Also, most of the heavy armored support was withdrawn from the city itself, preparing for counterattack, while they were left here with little to no air support. It was not a fair fight. It was a slow yet steady slaughter.

They finally reached the command center and saw the members of team Maardin. These guys looked exhausted. Mud, dirt, and gore was covering their armours, which were also pretty badly damaged. It was clear that the long and constant fight has taken the toll on these guys.

"Alright, you've already seen that our defense is crumbling." Major said while looking at the holomap of the city. "We're low on ammo and manpower, and our combat engineers can't keep up with the damage we recieve from the Reaper attacks."

"No shit." Ember 6 mumbled, but was slapped in the head by his brother.

"However our radiomen have managed to contact a group of civilian resistance just over a kilometer from our position, in the city hospital. They report that they've seen some supply drops in that area which were supposed to land near us, but missed due to the enemy fighter missions."

"And we're going to recover the weapons?" Virox asked.

"That AND the civilians. We need everyone who can fight, and these guys won't last long alone. With their support we'll be able to expand our HQ and control more area." Major replied.

"When do we leave?" Maardin 1 asked despite being exhausted.

"Not so fast. I've got good news too." Major said and brought up a hologram of a mechanized convoy. "A few guys from the mechanized forces outside the city have agreed to lend a hand on this operation. They're the 2nd mechanized unit. They have provided us with two All Terrain Troop Transports, each with two squads inside, and one Hunter tank. ATTTs will only transport the civies and equipment, while you will hold the area where the resistance cells and drop zones are located. The tank will escort the convoy during its runs between HQ and you."

"Finally!" almost everyone exclaimed in unison and Major let out a small smirk. He was glad too.

"Ok, be ready. They should be here any... oh nevermind." he said, as the convoy just arrived. Three vehicles, tank leading the two transports. They quickly pulled over and the doors revealed the soldiers inside.

"Come on! Move your asses!" one that looked like an officer jumped out of the first transport and waved at them. Virox examined his officer insignia. A captain.

"Piss off, princesses!" Ember 6 shouted back visibly angry. "You weren't the ones who fight in the city for a week!"

Surprisingly his brother didn't react. Hell, both teams have shown visible annoyance with the guys from the mechanized forces. And who could blame them? They stayed in this city for way longer, while the mechanized was sleeping in cozy beds outside the capital of Qreten.

"Alright, cut the chatter. Load yourselves up on the transports." Virox urged them and climbed up on the first transport. However a voice from behind him triggered all the seriousness he had.

"Wait! Wait!" it was Zia and Nalik. They ran out of the HQ and towards the convoy.

*CRACK*

"What the hell are you doing here? Get back to the camp!" Virox snapped at them harshly.

"Major told us to go with you. He thought you could use additional support." Zia replied firmly.

"I don't care what Major said. Get back to the HQ. Don't want you to die there." older Carvin said.

"So you're defying the orders from a superior officer?" she didn't let up.

"I..." Virox was about to snap at them again, but then his already broken mind was conflicted. He took their mother's wish to take her kids to safety VERY seriously, which resulted in their limited participation in combat. However his current personality was also almost completely obedient to his superiors. It was a conflict of two orders now. Finally he gave up. "Ok, climb up. But if you die, I'll kick your souls back into your bodies only to kill you again."

"Noted." both kids replied happily and made their way on top of the vehicle. Still good that their uncle didn't loose all the sense of humor.

"Everyone, we're moving out!" the tank driver announced through the comms, and the convoy was on the move.

Saying that this was a peaceful trip would be completely inaccurate. Gunshots and sounds of firefight could be heard almost everywhere despite the rumbling of the engines. Everyone was watching the windows of the destroyed buildings, checking for snipers. There was no building that didn't bear the marks of combat.

"What's our ETA to the partisants?" Virox asked as they passed by the destroyed skyscraper.

"About a minute if we don't make any stops." captain said.

"Ok, ready your weapons. Synchronize signatures and get ready to disembark. Check your frequencies for any resistance transmissions." Virox ordered his men.

Right after he said that, a group of Reaper husks emerged from the alley. About a dozen human husks, a Brute, four Cannibals, and three Marauders. But they weren't charging at them, rather at something in front of them. The resistance they assumed. This was a perfect opportunity.

"Open fire!" captain shouted and the weapons of both vehicles and soldiers came to life. The tank instantly targeted the Brute. One shot in its back quickly dealt with it, while the pintle mounted rapid fire laser gun focused on the infantry. Grenade launchers on the transports fired for a devastating effect against the human husks, while the soldiers who mounted the transports itself, dispatched the remaining forces with relative ease.

"Prepare for more! We're approaching the last known location of the civilian resistance fighters!" Virox announced.

It didn't take long. Soon they drove past the wrecked apartment building, and saw the hospital itself... or what was left of it. Windows were shattered, but they could see people moving inside the building, which was now under a heavy assault. But what caught the attention of the soldiers was the noise. A strange noise of gunfire that came from the windows, which were firing something that looked like plasma or something similar. It was literally melting through the hordes of husks, because it was firing so fast. Faster than any rapid firing laser turret.

"These guns are... magnificent!" Ember 6 gasped as he looked at the amount of rape these things were inflicting on the husks.

"Alright guys, were going in! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" captain shouted and both the Ember team and Maardin team have quickly jumped down from the transports.

Shortly after four more squads disembarked and joined the fight. The tank quickly targeted the Ravagers that served as the artillery on the rear of the formation. This sudden flanking maneuver had surprised the Reaper forces, but there was too many of them to be wiped out in a single lightning fast strike. Husks have split up into two groups. Husks that were spearheading the assault on the hospital have not changed their target, but two thirds of the Cannibals and Marauders quickly turned towards the new enemy, taking cover behind wrecked skycars, destroyed armored transports, fences, or any cover they could find. The Ravagers tried to focus fire on the tank, but it quickly dispatched two of them with a single shot, then targeted the rest. Meanwhile Carvin infantry was putting pressure on the Reapers, making daring runs across the open fields, while being covered by other squads. One of the soldiers from mechanized forces had overextended himself and got hit in the shoulder when his shields were depleted.

"AH! Fucker!" he screamed in pain and tried to take cover in a hole made by an artillery shell. But he was soon joined by Ember 6 who just decided to join him in that hole.

"Get up, princess!" he teased him. "These husks are not going to die by themselves!"

"Piss off and help me!" the soldier snapped.

"On it!" Six crouched and applied the medi-gel on the wound. "At least we know how to not get hit. You guys from the mechanized haven't seen the real fight yet."

"Shut up!" was the only reply. However it didn't take long for the joined effort of the defenders in hospital and the newly arrived reinforcements to drive away the Reapers. The remainings of the assault force was now retreating through the gate that led to the plaza in front of the hospital. It was over for now.

"Striker! Firebolt! Get to the hospital! Check for survivors and equipment, then prepare to evac the first group! Warhound! Havoc! Protect the transports!" captain ordered his people, then turned towards Virox. "You do whatever your superiors told you."

"Ok, we'll check with the civies and ask about the supply drops. Move." Virox said and both teams went inside.

By the doors there were a few civilian defenders, one of them was talking with some guy from the mechanized. In the hospital itself there were little people overall, but they were staying in groups to either tend to their wounded or exchange weapons and ammo. They looked exhausted, but unyielding and determined. It reminded Virox of the team Maardin back at the HQ and he understood that he and his species will not stop fighting until the enemy is defeated.

"Hey, you! You know who's in charge here and where to find him?" he asked one of the civilian resistance fighters sitting on a staircase.

"Our leader is a doctor from this hospital. Go upstairs on the second floor, turn left, go all the way forward, then turn left again. They are in the Surgery Area. You should see the sign." civilian replied while pointing them at the right direction.

After a brief period of walking they saw the sign and heard the talking from inside. Both teams entered the room, where multiple doctors were tending to their wounded, while a few civilians were standing around a table with a holographic map of the surrounding area.

"Ok, who's the one in charge? We need to make this quick." Virox shouted across the room.

"It's me." one of the civilians in a medical outfit who was standing around the table raised his hand.

"Good, we need to make this quick." Virox said as he approached the table. "Our mechanized forces are organizing the evacuation. You know everything? Established a priority?"

"Yes. We're sending the children and the wounded first along with medical supplies from the hospital. We're... in abundance of them, even if we were depleting them fast." he explained. "The second wave would consist of women and elderly. The last run will evacuate the few remaining defenders and you."

"How many do you have here?" Virox asked.

"Over 50..."

"Holy shit! That's a lot of people given the fact that you were under a constant attack, and don't possess the military experience." Ember 6 whistled in amazement.

"Yeah, and these guns they had have a serious punch. We might stand a chance here." Ember 2 added.

"Speaking of weapons..." Virox interruped the complements of his team. "Your resistance reported a few supply drops in the area. We need your assistance to recover them."

"I can assign a runner to each of your squads to lead you to the drop zones." doctor said.

"We'll have to request more than that." Virox replied with pain in his voice. "This area is not safe, and we need to move the content of these drops fast. 7 of us on each drop is going to take time. If your people could help us move them to the hospital, we could make this quick and avoid unnecessary casualties if we encounter Reaper forces, since the entire squad will be able to focus on defending your people. All we ask is for three people for each squad."

Doctor had a troubled expression and Virox couldn't blame him. He was asking a lot. Many of the people he was leading so far had died and he obviously didn't want to have more blood on his hands. But finally he sighed and nodded. "Alright. There are three drop zones that we know of." he pointed at a public parking lot near their position. "One is definitely here, on this parking lot on the east, but watch out. This area is very exposed to enemy fire."

"Noted." Virox said.

"Next one is next to this destroyed radio tower, north from the hospital. This should be easy, since the reports say most of the Reaper foces in that area moved northeast." doctor continued and pointed at the wrecked tower that was surrounded by double barbed-wire fence. One fence had an opening, so it was going to be quicker. "But the bad news is that they moved to an area where the last drop is." He moved the map northeast and focused on a rectangular apartment building that had a plaza inside. "It is located at the plaza right here. Watch out the windows for snipers."

"Hmm, this makes it difficult." Virox hummed as he examined the map. "The first two drop zones will be easy, but getting to the last one will take time. We only have two teams at our disposal. We could divide our forces. Each team would deal with one drop zone and escort the payloads back to the hospital, there's no one who could get the last drop. We need those weapons."

"Sir, if I may..." Ember 1 raised his hand, and when Virox nodded, he took a look on the map. "We could divide our forces as you said. Then after first two drops are recovered, assign two soldiers from each squad to each group. They would escort the civilians and the payloads back to the hospital. This would save us time, and our two squads would then rendezvous near the last drop and recover it together. There would be ten of us there. Three of us could move the drop back to the hospital, while the rest could cover them. No additional help from civies needed, apart from guidance."

"That's... actually a very good plan." Virox was impressed by the thinking of his second-in-command. His buddies were giving him pats on the back, and the guys from Maardin were nodding their heads in agreement. "So what's it going to be, doctor?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" he chuckled lightly. "Although I'm worried about the smaller protection for my people with the first two drops, I guess a smaller group will attract less attention. I will place some of my men on the rear of the hospital to provide overwatch and cover their return."

"Good. Now where do we meet up with your people?" Virox asked.

"I'll quickly inform my most trusted runners to go with you. They'll meet up with you at the east entrance to the hospital." doctor replied.

"Alright, then it's settled. Stay alive here." Virox nodded and turned towards his soldiers. "Ok! Ember, Maardin, we're moving out!"

Soldiers quickly saluted and followed him down the corridor. They had a plan that actually had a chance to work and give them a fighting chance in this entire city. More than they had a few minutes ago. As they ran down the stairs and towards the east entrance, they already saw the movement by the door. The doctor knew how to do things quickly.

"Wow, that was fast." Ember 6 said and approached the civilian fighters. "You guys know your job?"

"We've been running around the city scavenging for supplies and fighting the Reapers without your help." one of them snapped. "So yeah I think we know our job."

"Geez, fine. I didn't say anything. Sorry." Six backed off, a bit crestfallen.

"Cut the chatter." Virox interrupted and turned towards the civies. "Who are the runners that are to take us to the drop zones?" Two guys that looked relatively young raised their hands. "Ok. Maardin, you go with this guy, while Ember and me will go with that one." he assigned the squads to their runners respectively, then turned to those that were supposed to help them carry the supplies. "You guys stay low and don't use your weapons unless I or leader of Maardin respectively orders you to so. We don't want you to draw attention on yourselves, so focus on getting the supplies back to the hospital for extraction. Got it?" Civies mumbled something, but nodded in agreement. "Ok, then lead the way."

"Follow me." the runner who was assigned to Virox and his team waved his hand at them, while his friend did the same to the Maardin team. He had a dark blue jacket with multiple pockets and a pistol holstered in a holster on his belt that looked like a civilian variant of a standard issue combat belt. The state of his stuff clearly showed that he managed to stay alive and earn a few cuts and bruises along the way.

He led them through the ravaged streets and demolished buildings, heading towards the parking lot where supposedly the drop was. The streets were awfully quiet and the noise of the Reaper husks could only be heard in certain places, as if the Reapers were running out of husks.

"Don't count on it. Your intelligence guys from the military said that there will be a fresh delivery of husks pretty soon." runner said as if he was reading their minds.

"Thanks for the heads-up... I guess." Ember 1 said, while the rest of his squadmates were looking at eachother and at the kid, thinking about what he said.

They passed a destroyed fountain, which was still working somehow, and the water was still coming out, though in a much smaller amount. Around it there were bodies of both Reaper husks and Carvin soldiers and civilians, which meant that a firefight occured around here. The smell from the bodies suggested that it couldn't have been more than a day ago.

Finally after a few minutes, Virox and the Embers see their target: a parking lot, just like they've seen it on the map. And right next to a broken tree in the center, there was the drop itself, lying in a small crater. Covered in metalic armor to help resist the heat produced during its passing into the atmosphere, as well as outfitted with thrusters to protect the content from breaking upon impact with the ground.

"Stay vigilant. We don't want to be ambushed here in the open." Virox said and scanned the area, looking for any sign of enemy activity. "Alright, let's move."

The group was slowly heading towards their prize, taking cover behind cars, lamp posts, in craters created by artillery fire, basically anything that could give cover. Fortunately no enemies were protecting the crate. Embers and the civies approached the drop and tried to get it out of the metalic protection.

"Alright, look for a control panel that-" Virox started, but was interrupted.

"Found it." Nalik said and unlocked the crate.

"Check the content." Virox ordered and the soldiers quickly opened the container. It revealed a lot of weapons, some familiar, while others looking nothing like they've ever seen before. Nontherless, the content was present and secure. It now needed transport.

"So, who's gonna escort the civies to the hospital?" Six asked.

"As a matter of fact I thought about you and your brother." Virox smirked, that earned him one surprised look and a few chuckles.

"What!?" Six was shocked and visibly angry. "But-"

"Shut up!" Seven smacked him in the head and dragged him to the crate.

"Aw, I thought you could use a bit of socializing." Three chuckled, which earned him a growl from the more socially challenged brother.

"Fuck you."

"Enough! We're moving out." Virox ordered then turned towards Six and Seven. "Keep them secure, and when you reach the hospital, assist with the defence. We don't want any-AH!"

A bullet interrupted him, but his shields absorbed the damage easily. It came from their left, where a sizeable force of Cannibals and Marauders appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Contact! 10 o'clock!" One exclaimed and took cover.

"Six! Seven! Get these guys out of here!" Virox shouted and focused on the enemies.

"Roger!" Seven shouted back and both he and his brother positioned themselves between the civilians and the incoming fire in order to shield them from any potential attacks. Fortunately the Reapers weren't interested with them as much, and they managed to escape quickly.

In the meantime, Embers were pressing the attack. They've developed an unrivalled coordination during this last week of constant exhausting fighting. Each squad member was covering one of the teammates as they advanced from cover to cover, putting more and more pressure on the husk force. Nalik was particularly helpful, as he linked to the shield interface of each soldier and was now using his omni-tool to boost, amplify, or recharge the shields of the soldiers whenever needed. It was brief, but the Reaper forces were anihilated.

"Nice one team." Virox complimented them, then turned towards the youngest member of the group. "You too, Nalik."

"Thanks." young Carvin said shyly. It felt good to be appreciated by their stubborn and insane uncle.

"Ahem. I think we should be going." the civilian runner, who stayed out of the fight, left his cover and joined them.

"Lead the way." Virox said and the group followed shortly after.

As they walked, Maardin team reported success on securing the drop, and the guys from the mechanized announced that the first batch of civilians and medical supplies from the hospital was sent away. This filled the Carvins with both satisfaction and anxiety. It felt good to succeed, as it was motivating them to fight. But the obvious question was: how long would all this go as planned? Plans were known to go to hell shortly after making contact with the enemy.

"Maardin team, this is Ember Leader. What's your ETA to the rendezvous point?" Virox asked through the comms.

"Ember team, this is Maardin Leader. ETA is about 2 minutes." came the response. "However we have observed a significant enemy activity at the third drop zone. Caution is advised." came the response.

"Copy that. Mission objectives unchanged. We're gonna get that crate to the hospital." Virox said.

"We can take a shortcut." the runner proposed. "It will only work on this way. There's no way we'll go there with the crate from the drop."

"Ok, show us." Virox replied.

Guy led them through the ruins of a collapsed building, which saved them time and trouble of using the street, since they were less exposed here than they would be there. But he was right when he said that going back through there was not an option. The tight corridors and openings in building walls would make it impossible to move the crate through there if it was the same size as the previous one.

"Sir. Up ahead. It's the Maardin team." One reported while pointing forward.

Indeed, the metalic armors and exposed green body parts suggested that they were Carvins. Embers quickly jumped down from a window and proceeded to rendezvous with the Maardin team.

"You finally decided to show up!" Zia mocked them, her shotgun resting on her shoulder.

"Piss off, girly." someone snapped back and everyone let out a small chuckle. There was a small moment of reunion, even though it was not needed, but then the runners interrupted.

"*Ahem* We're almost there, it's just one street away. But just as your friends noticed, there's a huge concentration of husks in that area." one of them said.

"And because we don't want to die yet, we'll stay here and wait for you. Don't take much time with it." his friend added.

"Noted. Take us there. We'll know how to approach when we see the enemy." Virox said.

After a bit of running, they reached their objective: a rectangular apartment building on the corner of the street, with an inner plaza for recreation. That's where their prize was... also surrounded by at least fifty husks in the general area.

"I've detected about a dozen husks standing in our way through the southern gate. There's probably around 40 in this area, but more might be hiding nearby." One informed while he was scanning the area with his visor. "I've also confirmed the enemy presence in the building, but don't know how many. It's certain though that when we charge through the gate, we'll be effectively surrounded."

"So we need to make a quick breakthrough, then we can use our explosive munitions to disrupt enemy forces inside the building. That should give us time to get to the crate and get it out of there." Virox concluded then looked at the kids. "As much as I hate do to it, you'll go too. We need you in mostly defensive capabilities."

"What!?" Zia was clearly not happy with that, but Nalik didn't seem to mind.

"Don't even try to argue." he instantly cut them off. "Zia, I need you to decrease the mass of the cargo using your biotics, so that it's lighter and can be transported faster. If you'll feel that you can, try to also make a barrier that will protect you and the cargo. As for you Nalik, you'll be our main support when it comes to shields. Replenish them to those that need it the most. If you'll have more room to maneuver, try to use your tech abilities to disrupt the enemy attacks."

"Yes sir!" they both saluted quietly, but it still made him both proud and sad. He shrugged it off quickly as there was job to be done.

"I want Three and Five from Ember, and Two and Six from Maardin on the package. The rest will protect them." He ordered and took a moment to assign targets to take out for each soldier. When everyone had a target, he raised his hand up holding three fingers. Then he started counting down. When he only showed a clenched fist, a short barrage erupted from their position, and over a dozen of husks were obliterated. "GO!"

All soldiers darted out of their position and charged towards the entrance, while shooting at the incoming husks that recovered from surprise. The gate of the entrance was nowhere to be seen so they just busted in.

"Grenades, now!" Virox yelled after taking out a Marauder. A salvo of grenades flew at the windows that surrounded them, to quickly explode and add more to the chaos that was happening.

When they saw the crate, they quickly ran towards it. Two soldiers from team Maardin reached it first and tried to open it up. They found the panel and pressed the button to release the crate from the protective case.

"I got it!" one of them shouted and the the metalic protection started to come off, but then something jumped from the ground around them. The next thing they saw was an explosion and the black smoke filling the entire plaza.

[PLAY: SCREAMING EAGLES - SABATON]

"*cough* *cough* Shit! They've mined the entire zone!" Virox let out as he was trying to stand up. His shields did a marvelous job at keeping him alive. They managed to hold on at 6%. Luck? Maybe. "It was a trap! We need to run!"

But as he said it, he saw a corpse of a Maardin team soldier. He was missing an arm, and his entire face along with much of the torso was scorched. When Virox looked away, his sight fell on another body in front of him. This one was missing his legs and tail, but he couldn't tell from which team he was. All these images triggered something in him. Memories of The Great Grox War. He had these kinds of flashbacks before, but now he could almost see himself in combat with the Grox. Corpses everywhere and screams of agony was all he could see and hear.

"Sir! Sir, we need to move!" a scream brought him back to reality and he saw Ember 1 trying to take cover by the fountain in the center of the plaza.

"Watch the windows!" someone else yelled.

This was enough for Virox to completely recover. He immediately reached for his rifle lying on the ground and stood up, then ran towards the fountain too. His eyes were moving in an abnormal speed, yet he could see everything with perfect clarity. Adrenaline was flowing through his veins as he landed three headshots on the shooters in the apartment windows above them.

"We're surrounded! There's no way we-ARGH!" a scream of pain went like a vaccum cold spike through Virox's head.

He turned around to see Ember 2 lying on the ground and bleeding heavily from the left side of his throat.

"Two is down!" One yelled, but he couldn't simultaneously focus on the advancing enemies and his wounded teammate.

They were trapped. Trapped in an encirclement they walked into willingly. Husks were pouring in from all the entrances and the plaza was just an arena where the only thing guaranteeing your existence is luck. A screech from above filled the air and a Harvester landed on top of the building, looking at the soldiers inside. It kind of seemed like the end. All Carvins raised their heads upwards. All of them wanted to die while looking their killer in the eyes.

And all of them were disappointed.

When the Harvester was priming to fire, another noise filled the air. A noise of engines. Then, a moment later everything went crazy. Something blasted the Harvester out of existence. Two shuttles took its place above the plaza and a few figures jumped out of them and landed on the ground. Carvins were really disoriented about what the heck was going on, but they stayed cold-blooded and recovered quickly. Virox himself managed to identify several figures. One was a Human in an N7 armor, but different than Shepard's, as it had a small cape and made the wearer look thinner than in a standard one. He was glowing lightly, indicating that he was a biotic. Another one was definitely a Vorcha... that just scorched five husks with a flamethrower? Dafuq? There was also an Asari and a Turian with a sniper rifle and a pistol.

'Garrus?' he instinctively thought, but realized that it wasn't possible and shook his head. Suddenly his hand was grabbed by someone and he was quickly lifted on his feet. He looked at the person who did it... only to stand face-to-face with a robot. Well, a female looking robot.

"This location is compromised! Immediate retreat is advised!" she said and Virox didn't want to argue.

"Let's move! We need to get to the hospital fast!" he screamed from top of his lungs.

"Two is wounded!" Ember 5 shouted back from behind his cover.

"Grab him and the other wounded! We need to move NOW!" Virox yelled.

By sheer luck they all managed to bust through the southern entrance and already saw the two civilian runners waving at them from their last position. Without a word of encouragement, the entire group ran into the ruins and away from the Reaper forces on their heels.

"Well that was a close one." Turian sniper said as they ran towards the hospital.

"Agreed. A few seconds more and we would be in trouble." the Asari nodded.

"Blood. Blood was good." Vorcha added for some odd reason.

Virox wouldn't much care about that, but then he heard a loud cough from behind him. He did a full stop and 180 degree turn to see Two covered in his own blood. His armor looked like if it was a sewing practice material. He was carried by One and Five but they looked like they had trouble with keeping him straight.

"Wait up! Just a moment!" Virox said and approached Two.

"Enemy forces are closing in. Any stops are endangering the group." the female robot said, but he shrugged that off.

"Hey! Hey Two! Can you hear me?" he asked while waving his hand in front of his face.

"It was... *cough* an honor to serve with you, sir." he wheezed with great difficulty.

"No, you're not dying, Two! We can help you. We have medi-gel, bandages..." One said, but his voice clearly indicated desperation and fear.

"Just end this... please." Two begged and coughed more blood. "I... I want it to stop. End the pain *cough*."

Virox looked at him and knew what to do. Two lost too much blood, and without a proper medical attention he'd die. There was no way he'd survive until they reached the hospital. With great pain, Virox reached for his combat knife.

"Sir? What are you doing?" Three asked worriedly.

"No! We can save him!" Five joined in as he understood what he was about to do.

"Rest in peace, Dail Qi'Raan." Virox spoke the true name of Two for the last time before he thrusted the knife into his throat.

"NOOOO!" all soldiers screamed as they watched their friend die. Two looked at them and let out his last words.

"Thank... you..."

It was brief, but the Embers were looking at the dead Carvin in shock and saddness. They never called eachother by real names, just by numbers, as it was shorter and more efficient, but they all knew eachother's real names. If they used them, it meant that they were completely serious. And hearing these words from Virox was just enough to mentally overwhelm them. They've seen death. A lot of it for this past week. But to see a squadmate... a brother go away... there was no way around this shock. Maardin team members were looking at that scene with almost equal saddness. They lost two of their soldiers at the drop zone, and seeing yet another friend die was even more painful. Both the runners and the aliens who saved them remained silent for that brief moment. And as much as it pained Virox to interrupt them, he placed his hand on One's arm calmly but firmly.

"We've got to go. It's over. He's not coming back." he said and the soldiers slowly recovered from shock.

"Yes... yes I know." One replied, but was stuttering on each word. He reached for Two's dog tags and took one, then stood back up, his expression changing to a mix of anger and determination. "Let's get out of here."

They started running again and this time Carvins doubled the pace, making it hard for their strange saviours to catch up.

"Holy shit. You guys sure have a lot of stamina." the N7 soldier panted as even with his biotics he found it difficult to run with such speed for a long time.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Virox asked, while sounding quite cold. At first it would be impossible to tell, but he was also furious at the death of one of the men he commanded.

"We're the N7 Special Ops team Beta 2." the response came from a woman who also wore N7 armor, but also had a hood and a mask covering her face (A/N: an N7 Fury). Virox didn't see her before, but didn't bother.

"Uh huh. Bullshit. N7 is Human, and I see a Turian, an Asari, a Vorcha..." Virox started counting while still running, and recognized a few more species. "A Salarian, a Batarian... and a female robot. That's hardly 'only human'."

"The Alliance has been recruiting anyone willing to fight the Reapers head on. At first they were led by N7s, but now they're just the united Spec Ops teams." Turian explained. "We're fighting for the same cause."

But before Virox could question that, a transmission came in.

"Teams Ember and Maardin, this is 2nd mechanized. We've extracted the second batch and are heading to your location now. What's your status on the last weapon drop?"

"The drop zone was compromised. Three KIA. No equipment has been recovered. We're going back to the hospital on foot." Virox replied while panting heavily.

"Understood. Be ready for extraction. ETA to the hospital is 5 to 7 minutes."

"Copy. We'll try to hold on." he responded and ended the transmission.

After a minute, they finally saw the hospital building relatively well, but what troubled them were the red glowing dots that started to appear on the sky. Soon they started to become more and more numerous, and Carvins realized what it was. A second wave of husks. They really needed to hurry.

When they finally reached the hospital, they busted through the door, earning a few surprised looks, partially due to the presence of the aliens.

"Get up! Our ride will soon be here! Enemy reinforcements are inbound, so move!" Virox yelled from the top of his lungs.

The troops inside immediately obeyed and started moving like if they were injected adrenaline. Sure, there was much less of them now, but their spirits weren't broken. In fact, the successful evacuation of so many of their bretheren by the army has bolstered their morale.

"Hey sir. Glad you made it." Six and Seven appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Six had a large gun resting on his shoulder, while Seven was carrying his standard CAR assault rifle. "You have no idea how awesome this thing is. It's like a rapid fire laser turret, only more compact, fires faster, has more reliable damage, and is generally better. The only downside is the ammo management, but it fires the same crap as these new shotguns. And the damage... oh the damage."

"Stop bragging about it." his brother only rolled his eyes in annoyance, but then looked at the group and noticed something. "Wait... there was more of you before. And where's Two?"

Soldiers looked at eachother helplessly. None of them had the strength to tell them, but it was clear that they already suspected what happened. Six dropping the cheerful attitude was only proving that.

"Two... didn't make it." Virox said and the pain from a fresh wound, that was Two's death, returned. "Got shot in the throat. Wished to end his life so I did."

He expected the brothers (or Six at least) to lash out at him, angry for mercy killing their own teammate, but to his surprise they didn't move. Both were shocked obviously, but it was clear that they believed what he said. Then Six growled angrily. He looked down and clenched his free fist.

"These bastards... they'll pay for that." he muttered angrily and Virox noticed that the mood was spreading to the rest of the team, and team Maardin too. Six then looked at his brother. "We're gonna send them back to the rotten hell they came from."

His brother nodded and turned towards the rest. He gestured his hand to follow them and led them upstairs. They followed and eventually ended up in a room with few civilian resistance fighters and lots of weapons and ammo.

"Take what you need. We're not taking of these things back to the HQ anyway." Six said as he grabbed something that looked like a small box, then placed it under the gun he was holding. Probably an ammo clip. He then pointed at the windows, or what was behind them. "Prepare yourselves. The slaughter is coming."

In an instant all soldiers began picking up anything they could use, from grenades, through medigel, to these weird LMGs that Six was holding. Heck, One and Three have found a bigger variant of the same gun and placed it on a modular tripod on the window. The aliens looked at all of this, not knowing how to respond, until Virox snapped them out of it.

"What are you looking at!? Get ready! Drop pods are about to hit!" he yelled.

Just when he finished his sentence, the first drop pod hit the ground in front of the hospital.

[PLAY: NOT GONNA DIE - SKILLET]

"Enemies ahead!" someone shouted and the crater that was created by the drop pod was suddenly pummeled with bullets. Every husk that tried to get out was left a smoking corpse. However more drop pods started to fall down, and even with the LMGs, as well its heavy variant, the Reapers were pressing the attack.

"EAT THIS YOU BASTARDS!" Six roared from behind his weapon's sight. The soldiers of the N7 group watched the Carvin fire their pure hate at the enemy. They finally saw the Carvin determination on their eyes. A cornered animal will fight more ferociously than it would if it was not, and the Carvins were a perfect example of that. Most species only wanted to survive on their besieged planets. But they wanted more. Both soldiers and civilians wanted to kill... no, to slaughter their invaders. And that's what they've been doing.

These new machine guns were literally melting through their enemies. Be it metal or flesh, they anihilated all of their enemies with the unstoppable power of white hot uranium tungsten alloy. Over a dozen windows was now spewing this deadly projectiles all around the building, making it extremely hard for the Reaper husks to even get close to the gunners. Ravagers were still providing artillery fire, constantly wearing down the structural integrity of the hospital, but even the armor and the distance couldn't save them from the projectiles of the Thanix machine guns.

"Perimeter has been breached! East side!" a scream came to the ears of Ember team as they were still unleashing a bullet hell on the husks.

"They're inside the building! We're boxed in!" someone else yelled.

Virox understood that they couldn't loose the first floor. It was the safest and shortest way out of the building and to the pick-up zone. He grabbed Six by his arm and pulled strongly. "Move downstairs! You'll have them free kills lined up! Report when you set up!" he then turned towards the rest. "We'll stay here until he set's up, then we go too!"

Six quickly grabbed his gun then darted out of the room and ran down the stairs. He immediately saw the husks running inside the building and set up his LMG on a nearest crate of supplies. The bulletstorm he unleashed shortly after quickly dealt with them.

"Ready!" he exclaimed into his communicator.

"Everyone! To the first floor! We can't loose it!" Virox yelled on the common channel of all Carvins in the building.

As one they immediately left their positions and ran down the stairs, taking positions anywhere there was some cover. Each doorway served as a cover for at least two partisants. Husks were pouring in from both western and eastern entrance, effectively trapping them in the hospital. And while the N7s were struggling to save their shields, Carvins, who didn't have them, were taking hit after hit and still fired, yet started to fall one by one.

"2nd mechanized! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Ember One screamed into his communicator. "We're not gonna get out of here if you don't get here fast!"

No response.

Time started to slow down for the Carvins. They looked at eachother with sadness, but also understanding. No help was coming from what they knew. All hope seemed to be lost. Embers stared at their guns for a while, and Virox knew what they were feeling. He felt like this before: a complete catharsis in a moment of hopelessness. Complete purification of emotions. And it was always followed by a sudden boost of energy and the desire to kill. Kill as many as possible.

One Carvin broke from cover and started to aggressively push towards the western exit. He was taking hit after hit, but the newfound strength was still pushing him forward. Seeing this, others rushed westward too. Multiple of them fell on the ground with no life, but the rest was still pressing forward. Both Carvin teams quickly followed them with the same strength. Zia started glowing purple and created a barrier around the spearhead of the counterattack. N7s looked at that speechlessly. The only thing they could compare this sight to was to a last stand of enraged Krogan, but doubled in terms of psychological impact.

"What the..." the N7 male biotic looked at this sight with disbelief.

"Blood! Hunt for blood!" the Vorcha roared and followed the Carvins.

Meanwhile the counterattack made its way outside. Civilian resistance fighters were fighting with a ferocity leveling enraged Brutes (Carvin Brutes), but keeping their clear mind. Six was firing his LMG from the hip, mowing down the incoming husks. His teammates were close behind, focusing on the more dangerous enemies, even though half of them didn't have their shields. It was their final push. Their final stand... or so they thought until the front line of the Reaper assault exploded.

"Cavalry's here!" it was the captain of the 2nd mechanized unit. "Everyone get in! We'll fry these bastards!"

For like two seconds Carvins just stood there. Hope was not lost. They'd live another day. Transports have opened their doors and the civilians rushed in, trying to not bump into eachother too strongly. Meanwhile teams Ember and Maardin started to climb the vehicles. N7 followed that example and tried to hang to anything they could. However the convoy started to recieve too much attention from the Reaper forces. Husks were getting dangerously close, and their firepower wasn't as big as it was just a minute ago. Nevertheless almost everyone managed to get in, apart from some unlucky partisants who got shot before entering.

"Ok, time to go! Get us outta here!" captain shouted and the convoy started to retreat.

The tank was covering their rear, but when the Ravagers unleashed a barrage of artillery fire, its shields and armor didn't stand a chance. Carvin drivers tried to get out of the vehicle, but when another salvo came, an explosion shook the ground and ripped them apart.

"Shit! We've lost our rear cover!" one of the drivers screamed.

"Punch it!" captain ordered.

Two transports started to quickly accelerate and escape. They were driving through the ravaged streets waaaay above the speed limit in such enviroment, but now the survival instinct took control. It's not like anyone bothered when Reaper drop pods were falling everywhere around them. Shrieks and moans of husks crawling out of the drop pod craters were additional motivation.

"There it is! The HQ!" One shouted while pointing forward. Indeed, their objective was just ahead of them. The only thing standing between it and them were three Brutes.

"Everyone hold on! We're not stopping now!" captain yelled and everyone tightened their grips on whatever they were holding.

"Wait, he isn't going to..." Turian sniper started, but was interrupted when the transport he was holding to rammed the Brute from behind at full speed. Second transport did the same. This left sizeable dents in the vehicle armor, but no one really cared.

Vehicles pulled over when a few of the Carvin squads ran towards them from the HQ. Doors have opened and both soldiers and civilians began either running or limping towards the much desired safety.

"Inform the medics that they're gonna gave a lot of visitors!" one of the soldiers said as he helped Virox get off the transport.

They were led or carried all the way to the field hospital where the medics were waiting for them.

"Put him here." one medic said to the soldier who was supporting Virox, who managed to finally lie down. The overwhelming feeling of exhaustion was slowly closing his eyes, but he was afraid that if he closed his eyes, his life would end. Then he saw Zia and Nalik being put down on beds next to him. They were also exhausted, but looked fine apart from a few scratches. Virox smiled lightly. It seems that they proved themselves. He got them to safety as promised. He and his team were their safety now. Soon his eyes closed, the noises outside the field hospital started to become quieter, and after this long exhausting day, Virox fell asleep.

 **A/N: OH MAH GAAAAAAAAAAWD! This chapter is the longest one I've written so far! Geez I couldn't believe it when I first saw it. Guess not only the war is escalating in my story, but the amount of content in each chapter. Hopefully it was worth waiting for. I'll try to update the next one soon, but I still have to rest from this one. Sorry for the wait btw. It was a mix of writer's block, summer holiday lazyness, and annoying cousins from America who just decided to visit us (No offense to any americans out there. The reason is that they're 8 year olds, not that they're american). Again, thank you for putting up with my recent horrible update rate and I hope you like the chapter. Constructive criticism is appreciated as always. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	6. Reinforcements and preparations

**A/N: Remember in the previous chapter that I needed to rest after writing it? Well tough shit, I couldn't hold it and started to write this one just about two hours later after getting some sleep. Not that I written much, but still... I might have got addicted, given the fact that I started writing this chapter in Poland, but finished in Greece :D. Anyway, this chapter is shorter than normally because I think that while long chapters are good from time to time, more consistent release would be a better idea (HAHA! Consistence and me! Funny as fuq! KYS you hypocrite! Go rot in hell!). Aaaanyway, at least some of you are probably waiting for the (not so) Grand Reunion of Shepard and Virox. Well I'll spoil it for you: they'll be back together after one more chapter. I have some big plans for that reunion and what comes after *grins evily*. And yes, I have begun to implement drama, pain, suffering, and death. Everything the big war for the future of the galaxy needs. Just reflects on my shattered sanity _(ツ)/.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: I always wonder how is it you always doing the first review within 24 hour period from uploading the chapter (not that there are many of them XD), but your activity is greately appreciated. Very thank. Much grateful. And as for your suspicions... the truth might be darker than you previously thought... or not. Because I know I am capable of fucking this up fairly easily. But I still like your effort.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Qreten's surface, Colony's capital city, Carvin field HQ in the industrial district, Field hospital**

 **[DREAM WORLD]**

"It was... *cough* an honour to serve with you sir."

"No, you're not dying, Two! We can help you. We have medi-gel, bandages..."

"Just end this... I want it to stop... End the pain *cough*."

It was what had to be done, and he knew it.

"Sir? What are you doing?"

"Rest in peace, Dail Qi'Raan..."

SLASH*

"NOOOO!"

Virox dropped his knife. He couldn't relive this without feeling this overwhelming pain. He collapsed on the ground, his muscles refusing to support the weight of his body. Two was gone. Nothing would bring him back. He died under his command. It was his order to continue with the mission despite the concentration of the Reaper forces at the third drop zone.

Suddenly the scenery changed, yet retained some of the climate. He was on a grey and wrecked street. Collapsed and ruined buildings on both of his sides, with fire and black smoke coming from a few of them. The sky was black and the air around him was white. Ashes and cinder were floating around him. All of this made him think of only one thing: war that was raging all around him. Even here, in his own head, he couldn't escape from it.

Virox was starting to feel a headache. Suddenly the black smoke from the buildings became denser. It was almost creating some sort of fog. Suddenly a few figures started to form from cinder. Figures he couldn't visually recognize, but he somehow knew exactly who they were.

"How could you!?" one who took form of Five shouted. "Who else are you going to kill to save your ass!?"

"My ass? It was to preserve the lives of those we could. Put the safety of a group over that of an individual. You've been taught this long enough to know better." Virox replied calmly, even though this was a dream. It helped a lot to defeat the dream with logic.

"And when someone else gets hurt? You'll kill them too and call it a mercy kill?" a voice from behind asked. Virox turned around to stand face to face with One. The squadmate who wanted to save Two more than anyone. He was an exceptional leader, but due to his youth too idealistic. It hurt to hear this, because this was what One could say in real life.

"We thought you were the good guy, uncle." a more childish voice said and Virox saw two little figures forming from cinder. It was Zia and Nalik. "You say you care about us. But if we'll get hurt, you'll leave us too? What about our mother's last wish?"

They were pushing all the buttons. Virox's headache started to become stronger. His vision was become blurry. The shadowy projections of his friends and family became more... oily. Their colour was stronger and he could see the details on their bodies. They were coming closer, each step they took was only increasing the pain. But the final straw was the voice that spoke after that.

"I have expected more from you." Virox froze when he heard these words. He turned around and stared in the lifeless eyes of his deceased father. His armor was still cracked, his left arm missing, and burn marks were still on his face.

"Father..." he couldn't say anything more.

"You selfish little shit!" the phantom projection yelled and punched him in the face. "I have not sacrificed myself for you so that you become a monster!"

Virox was still recovering from the punch, but it was not the pain that dazed him. It was shock. He looked at the phantom and felt hate. This... thing was not his father.

"You..." anger was boiling inside him. This was a dream, but he didn't care. Whatever this creature was, it was not going to impersonate his father. He lunged at the phantom and pinned it to the ground. He was about to turn its face into a bloody mess, but then everything started to spin and an overwhelming brightness hit his eyes.

 **[REAL WORLD]**

"FUCK!" This scream was what woke him up for good. "Someone help!"

Virox blinked several times and found himself on the floor, pinning down a medic, who was obviously new to such situation and did his best to liberate himself.

"What the hell happened!?" Someone else walked into the room and Virox noticed a blue cross on his chest. A senior medic for sure. He looked at this situation and facepalmed. "A word of advice. Do NOT wake up veteran soldiers after combat like that. You either let them wake up by themselves, or play an alarm sound effect on your bloody omni-tool, but don't ever approach them and try to physically wake them up, or something like this will happen."

(A/N: Because Carvins have blue blood, I figured that they'd have a blue cross rather than red. And don't question why the cross. It just is.)

Virox realized his mistake and quickly released the poor medic from his grip and helped him to stand up. The guy still shaking a bit but nodded as a 'thank you' and went back to work.

"How long was I out?" Virox asked after turning towards the senior medic.

"Two days, 4 hours, 17 minutes, and about 23 seconds." Came an oddly specific reply, but when Virox gave him a questioning look, medic just chuckled. "Just playing with you. But yes, you were out for two days."

"And what about my team?" Virox asked.

"As you can see, they're still sleeping." Medic replied while pointing at the beds behind them. "Figures that the newbies handle the combat much worse than regulars."

"You seem to know awfully lot about that." Virox noticed. "How long have you been serving?"

"Over 200 years. Hell, I was here on Qreten when the Collectors attacked. One of them damn bastards got me in the shoulder while I was pulling one of our guys from an open street." Medic let out a chuckle and both of them left the field hospital.

As they walked, Virox noticed how much has changed with the base for the past two days. It still looked similarly to what it was before their mission at the hospital, but now it had much more fortifications. Sandbags and barricades were set up at all four defense sections. However what was really strange for Virox was the fact that despite them rescuing a significant group of civilian resistance fighters, it seemed pretty much the same in terms of personel.

"Where are all the guys we saved at the hospital by the way?" He asked while looking around.

"Well, that stunt back there gave us a lot of recruits and manpower, but Command decided that keeping them all in one place would be too tempting for the Reapers. We're already defending the base practically day and night. Last thing we need is a Reaper destroyer or better a capital ship to land on top of us and kill us all." Was doctor's reply, but he was acting uneasy too, as if this was not the only reason of the absence of the soldiers. "But that's not the only reason. There have been... incidents as well."

"What kind of incidents?" That caught Virox's attention.

"With more Reapers on the surface, some of our guys are starting to feel the effects of Reaper indoctrination." It was clear that Doc didn't want to talk about it.

"But... I thought we were immune. Our troops have never reported being mind-controlled by Reapers." Virox said with surprise and worry. Was there something they've been missing? Or did the Reapers overcome the safeguard they possessed? Or maybe they wanted them to feel overconfident, to then strike for a bigger effect?

"And we are... in a traditional sense of it. We clearly show resistance to any Reaper indoctrination techniques that don't involve implants, and even those are reported to be ineffective so far." Doctor replied and Virox sighed from relief. "However, our psychologists have observed random mood swings of the soldiers, who have been in a Reaper's presence for an extended period of time. They become more aggressive. Hell, I've seen it myself, soldiers going nuts on the battlefield and attacking ANYTHING that was in their way, both husks and their fellow men."

Virox took a while to process this. So they were immune to traditional indoctrination, but it seemed that their soldiers would be emotionally unstable the longer they participated in combat, and would eventually start attacking both enemies and allies. This was dangerous, but probably not as horrifying as what the Reapers could do with other species. And it was unknown whether it was permament.

"And where are you keeping the rabid soldiers?" He asked, but was suddenly startled by a roar from his left. He looked to the source of the noise and saw a Carvin charging at him, only for him to hit metal bars of his confinement, which let out a loud BANG. "Oh shit, nevermind."

"We had to forcefully remove any offensive capabilities they had for safety reasons." Doctor explained and pointed at the rabid Carvin's arms and tail. "Look, no knuckle blades or tail spikes."

He then pointed at the other cages that were lined up after the first one. In each one of those there was a Carvin, either bashing against the metal bars that kept them inside, sleeping in the corner, or walking around the primitive cell and constantly growling. This only strenghtened Virox's anger and determination to stop the Reapers. They were turning his people into animals.

"So what the hell is the plan now?" he asked as they passed by the cages.

"From what the Major said, we're apparently going to get reinforcements quite soon." Doc said.

"What kind of reinforcements?" Virox looked at him curiously.

"No details were revealed, but if I would have to hazard a guess, I'd say manpower and ground equipment. Wouldn't count on armor or air support. Not much can be spared for us now from what I know."

"And what about these 'N7s' we've encountered on the way back to the HQ?" Virox asked, as their mysterious saviours were nowhere to be seen.

"They left to help in other districts and perform hit-and-run strikes on crucial Reaper positions. Still can't figure how they're so lucky that they haven't been shot down by Reapers yet." Doc replied.

When Virox was about to comment on that, an earpiercing Reaper shriek echoed through the air. Such a shriek was incredibly painful for the Carvins, since it was mostly infrasounds that most races couldn't hear, and many of them grabbed their heads in overwhelming pain. Others have collapsed to the ground trying to go through this torment.

"Seal your armors! Seal your armors!" Medic screamed while he was also holding his head in pain.

Virox didn't question it and immediately tried to seal his armor. All of the pressure locks started to pressurize the armor-suit, as if it was going to be used in space. With each lock, Virox felt the pain slowly fade away. He put on a special armor cover for the organic part of his tail that covered his poison glands, then placed a pressurized mask on his face. Now the pain vanished almost completely, due to the fact that the armor sustained damage from previous battles. Without further waiting, he darted towards other soldiers who were incapacitated or otherwise incapable of sealing their armors, and did the job for them.

"Alert! Alert! Prepare for enemy assault!" Alarms started to sound off all over the base.

In all this chaos, it was difficult to get a grip on the situation, but Virox notice his fellow squadmates, as well as Zia and Nalik, leaving the field hospital as dazed as others. He quickly sprinted towards them and tried to help them seal their armors. First he dealt with One, as he was the closest. It took a while for his armor to seal his body, but he recovered.

"Help the others seal their armor too!" Virox ordered while pointing at his teammates.

"Yes sir!" he said and moved towards the others, still dazed a bit.

As more soldiers were completely or partially sealed, they started to help others, and soon almost everyone was at least capable of effectively fighting. The only problem were the civilians who didn't have military-grade armor, as well as Zia and Nalik. Virox watched helplessly as they were rolling on the ground, with their hands on their ears, screaming for the voice to stop. He couldn't do anything to help them. They'd feel it even if unconcious.

"Stay strong. Don't give up." he said the words of comfort to them, and tried to keep them in one place as they struggled.

"Take positions!" someone yelled.

"The assault can come any moment!" another one screamed, yet all of this didn't afaze him. He was there for the kids he swore to protect. And even if he couldn't end their pain, he could be there for them.

But suddenly, they saw what they wouldn't expect.

"They're retreating! They're retreating from the surface!"

Reaper vessels, both capital ships and destroyers started to fly towards the orbit of Qreten. It was like a miracle. Suddenly the signal disruption sources were almost gone, and chatter on all frequencies commenced. But what was most important for Virox was the fact that the Reaper shriek was gone. Zia and Nalik were slowly getting up, and used him as a support at first, but recovered pretty quickly.

"All units, this is High General Indrigan. Multiple Reaper ships are leaving the planet. Your orders are to regain as much lost teritory as possible. We'll recieve multiple supply drops." A voice echoed through the comms on all frequencies. "Stand strong, help is on the way."

Upon mentioning the counterattack, morale of the Carvins soared. Commands started to flow to every platoon, every squad, every soldier. This was their time to fight back, and they were ready to use this time as effectively as possible.

"Ember team! I'm directing you to support the counterattack from section 1. It's the least defended zone of all." Voice of the Major sounded in their heads. "But remember that your role is to SUPPORT the assault, so don't get your asses shot off."

"Wow, an order I can get behind. At least we're not on the front lines again." Six said. He still had that LMG from the drop with him, and his standard CAR rifle was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Six, you're keeping that gun despite the ammo limitations?" Four asked as they walked towards section 1.

"I think I like it, and we could use some additional firepower..." Six replied though started to feel uncomfortable after that sentence. "You know... since we're not on our full... combat strength."

The good mood created by the vision of counterattack was immediately destroyed by that statement. It only reminded them that what happened two days ago wasn't just a bad dream. Even Zia and Nalik looked depressed. It seemed that they became a part of this team just like each and every one of the Embers, and the loss of Two hurt them just as much. But Virox was not going to go through this again, nor he wanted them to do the same.

"Alright, we've got a job to do, guys. We don't want the Reapers to miss the party we have in store for them." he said trying to sound encouraging and grinned while holding a grenade. "We'll bring a lot of fireworks."

It worked, or at least he thought it did. The sad expressions of Embers were replaced with evil grins and hateful glares towards the frontline. Virox saw that it worked. This was the Carvin nature. The harder the enemy hits, the stronger they become. Not only their Rage reflected that, but it was part of their mentality. And since the Reapers were hitting hard, they were going to hit them even harder.

"Hell yeah. We'll give them the warm welcome they deserve." Seven growled to surprise of everyone. He was usually the quiet one, a complete opposite of his loudmouth brother. But seeing him in the mood to kill inspired everyone else.

"And here I thought we'll never understand eachother." Six grinned and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "At least we found something we agree upon."

"Yeah! Let's light them up!" Three added.

"For Two!" Five chanted and the entire team repeated the warcry.

"Now let's give them hell!" Virox ordered, then the entire team headed towards the frontline with new strength.

When they reached the defensive positions, they found them only partially manned, which suggested that the counterattack has already started. Sounds of firefight were pretty far ahead, and from what Virox could pick up from different frequencies, the counterattack was successful everywhere. Each field HQ, military bunker, and resistance cell were pushing the Reapers back on almost all fronts. Without the heavy firepower of their ships, they were weak, and Carvins planned to exploit that weakness.

"There they are!" One shouted and pointed at the Carvin soldiers fighting a group of Reaper husks. It was composed of roughly two dozen Cannibals at the moment, supported by less than ten Marauders. No Brutes or Ravagers could be seen.

"Six, set up that LMG on this elevated position, then provide suppressing fire!" Virox pointed at what probably used to be a fortified laser turret emplacement on an artificial highground. It still looked tough enough to withstand a few hits.

"On it!" Six obeyed and quickly ran towards the highground, while Virox turned towards the rest.

"One, Three, I want you on the left flank! Five, Seven, you go right! Four, stick with me!" he shouted the orders and turned towards Zia and Nalik. "You two I want to focus on supporting the assault! Nalik, you overload Marauder shields. Zia, you pull the bastard out of cover!"

"Got it!" kids said and followed the soldiers who were already taking positions to support the main assault.

Despite them being a bit behind the frontline, they could still support their attacking comrades pretty effectively. While they couldn't deal so much damage, they could suppress the enemy so that their troops could get closer to the Reaper forces. Zia and Nalik were doing their jobs marvelously. Whenever a Marauder tried to peak from cover, Nalik was overloading his shields, then his sister was pulling him out to the open, where he was obliterated by the salvo of laser bolts from the frontline squads.

"I'm changing position!" Six reported, as he was too far to effectively fire at the enemy.

"Copy! Let's give him some cover!" Virox shouted.

"Uh, sir? There's no one to cover him from." Seven noticed. Indeed the husks were almost completely defeated. Last few Cannibals were now being killed face-to-face by the assault troops.

"What the hell do we do?" Three asked while resting his rifle on his shoulder.

"I guess we move forward." Virox said while pointing at the frontline squads. They were moving to reclaim as much of the lost teritory as possible. And even if there was too few of them to effectively secure the area they recaptured, pushing back the enemy was their main priority.

"Roger, we'll just follow them and-OH SHIT!" Six screamed as suddenly the ground around the troops ahead of them started to explode. Then they saw Ravagers on the ruined buildings ahead, as well as gunners in the windows.

"AMBUSH!" someone yelled.

"Ravagers on the buildings!"

"Brutes incoming, twelve o'clock!"

"Watch out for the windows!"

Callouts were coming from almost every soldier, and it was difficult to focus on just one threat. Reapers clearly knew that a counterattack could follow their partial retreat from the planet, and prepared their forces.

"We have to help them!" One shouted from behind cover, and was about to rush, but Six stopped him.

"And get our asses shot!? You wanna die!?" he asked, while aiming at the enemy Ravagers on the walls. "I ain't disobeying these particular orders that told us SPECIFICALLY not to die!

"Dying or not, we could use these supply drops that Indrigan mentioned right about now!" Virox gritted his jaws behind his cover.

"Ask and you shall recieve!" an unknown voice said through the comms, and suddenly the sun of Qreten was eclipsed... by an armada of ships.

It was literally an armada. Shuttles and dropships were landing everywhere, dropping off soldiers. One of the ships almost crushed Six, scaring the hell out of him, but the sight of fresh troops filled the entire Ember team with new strength.

"Let's get them!" Said one of the soldiers who left the shuttle.

Now it was them attacking once again. Reapers were outmatched 5 to 1. Sudden reinforcements quickly overwhelmed the husks who were not prepared for this kind of firepower. They were now being pushed back, yet the flow of reinforcement hasn't stopped. There was so many shuttles and drop pods landing everywhere that there was a problem with space. Now it was clear that Reapers were lured off planet to make it safer for these guys to land.

"Are we going to just stand there and admire the view?" Six asked seemingly for no reason. "Because I can live with that."

But when they were about to follow the attacking squads, their comms came to life.

"All teams assigned to the field HQ's report to your respective officers." A monotonous synthetic voice said. "Your next objective will be to help fortifying newly recaptured positions. Report to recieve coordinates of your target area, as well as specified orders.

"That settles it." Virox stated and signed them to follow him. "Come on. Let's not keep them waiting."

And so they started to run back to their base, while the seemingly endless flow of shuttles was not over yet, bringing awe and a massive morale boost. It seems that they finally got the long awaited reinforcements.

 **Qreten, Underground military HQ outside the capital city, Command Center.**

Despite some inconveniences, the plan of High Generals to destroy the massive Reaper fleet at Qreten was working so far. There were already reports on small groups of ships leaving some outer colonies in favor of a tempting target that were the freshly deployed conscripts. It was a morally questionable move, but it needed to be done to preserve the existence of Carvin Empire. They would worry about the press later.

However, the previously mentioned inconveniences have actually cut some of the time they would gain from their plan. When the joined forces of High Generals Seviros and Tivennia commenced a distraction assault, not enough Reapers left the surface to repel them. Of course this allowed them to take out a few more Reaper destroyers, but this was not their objective. Their objective was to make the planet underdefended enough for the maximum amount of troops to land.

Out of one and a half million troops they planned to drop on Qreten, around 500 000 were lost. Some transports carrying over 200 000 troops had a drive malfunction when departing from Carvistorn, and ran into an anomaly for a short period of time, but when they left, all of the crew and soldiers were found as skeletons. It seemed that this anomaly had bent the time and space, causing them to die from starvation, then their corpses decomposed. Such incidents weren't unheard of before. Carvin FTL drive, being based on wormholes to different dimensions, had a high degree of risk while malfunctioning, but loosing so many troops at this particular time was a severe blow.

The rest of the transport ships were either destroyed in orbit by now numerically superior Reaper Oculi, or at the approach to planet's surface by the Reapers that stayed on the surface. Two thirds of the forces have landed safely on the ground along with their equipment, and this would have to do for what the High Generals had in mind.

High General Indrigan was the one leading the defense of Qreten's surface. He had withdrawn most of the mechanized forces from the city right after the initial attack, but now, with additional reinforcements, he could bring them. After all, they needed to see how effective the newly developed EMP rocket launcher was. It was speculated that a concentrated fire from these weapons could disable a destroyer's defenses and daze it for long enough to perform an airstrike, an orbital bombardment, or deal substantial damage to the Reaper using ground-based weaponry. Heavy weaponry, which the mechanized forces possessed.

"Tivennia, Seviros, how are your fleets?" Indrigan asked while looking at the holomap of the colony's capital city.

"Reapers surely didn't expect such a big group of ships engaging them at the orbit so quickly." Tivennia said. She looked quite satisfied with the outcome of this operation. "My boys and girls have shot down four Reaper destroyers, a troop transport, and managed to critically damage one capital ship."

"Three destroyers, one transport ship, and one processor ship." Seviros rolled his eyes. Tivennia was extremely competitive, and every joined battle or operation she liked to compare the killcount of her forces to forces of other High Generals. "But besides that, I'm worried about the massive loss of troops we suffered. These 200 000 soldiers in that anomaly could bring a lot of attention to Qreten. And I haven't expected us to suffer such losses on the entry to the atmosphere."

"It will have to do for now. They just need to hold on long enough for the Reapers to consider them a target big enough to redirect more of their ships to this system." Indrigan said, as he was clicking on the unit symbols on the holomap and giving orders as to where should they move or attack. "You need to make as many repairs as possible. We need those ships to assist the evacuation."

"So you finally sided with Seviros." Tivennia sighed. She wasn't surprised or angry. It just hurt her to know that her colleague's plan was probably the only way they could effectively gain just a little breather from the Reapers.

"Yes... I hate to admit it as a specialist in leading soldiers into battle directly, but... I see no other alternative." he admitted.

"I know how you feel. I'm not happy about this whole thing either." Seviros said, his expression was also grim. "But we won't get any support from the other races. Our colonies are beyond the reach of Mass Relay network. If they can't help us by ourselves some time, then we have to do the payment ourselves."

"It would be much better if we could somehow make up for the lost troops to lure more Reapers to Qreten." Indrigan replied.

"I think I know the exact solution to that." Tivennia said with a mix of thoughtful and satisfied expression.

 **Normandy Sr-2, Captain's cabin.**

 **[DREAM WORLD]**

Shepard found himself in the dark forest again, and trying to catch the running child for the second time. He started to think that these dreams happening without reason in these specific moments. First one was right after the Fall of Earth, while this one was after curing the genophage... and loosing yet another friend.

"Shepard." he heard whispers, just like in the first dream.

Not minding the voices and the oily shadows amongst the trees, he ran after the child, but he felt like moving through thick mud. Not fast enough.

"Belay that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Williams! It's the right choice and you know it, Ash."

Shepard wanted it to be untrue. He wanted to forget. He wanted to go back in time and fix it. The choice he had to make... to choose who to save and who to leave to certain death. Why was destiny taunting him like that?

"Shepard! Excelent timing. Good to have you here."

This voice only scraped the fresh wound even more. It was Mording, who died to secure the future of the Krogan, and possibly even the galaxy. It pained Shepard even more to be reminded of all the death he experienced.

He was about to catch the kid, but suddenly a red light appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He looked up to search for the source, but the sky was still cloudy and grey as it was before. In that instant, the kid started to run away again. Shepard cursed this distraction and started to slowly search for the child amongst the woods once again.

"Trillions dead... but what if they had bowed before the invaders?"

Suddenly the images of Earth in flames started flashing before his eyes. The screams of people on lower levels, on the streets, in the buildings. And in the center of this destruction stood a turian who spoke these words long ago. Shepard refused to believe this. Saren, the rogue spectre. The person who started all of this maddness. Why of all people, he was the one to remind Shepard of his failures? And his words... Shepard couldn't accept it. There had to be a way to stop the Reapers.

"We will fight, even though we know we cannot win."

This wasn't true. They defeated Sovereign and the Geth heretics. They defeated the Collectors. They secured an alliance between the Krogan and the Turians. They were making progress. It was a spark of hope they had to give some fuel to transform into a real fire.

"Is submission not preferable to extinction?"

Shepard was sick of it. Despite the invisible mud that was slowing him down, he started to run even faster. He was going to catch this kid. But when he was about to catch him, when he was just a few meters behind him, the boy stopped and turned around. His skin started to glow, and in some places it started to resemble burning coal.

'No...' Shepard was furious. This was almost like taunting him for all the defeats he had to endure and get over.

The child stood in flames, yet his expression was unchanged. Just an overwhelming saddness as he turned into ashes, leaving Shepard alone in the dark forest, where the oily shadows were getting closer and closer.

But then an overwhelming light hit his eyes, and everything went white.

 **[REAL WORLD]**

Shepard woke up with a gasp for air. He took a moment to collect his thoughts. Thankfully it was a dream again, but if they persisted, he was worried about both his performance and mental health. You don't get nightmares staring the same person in the same scenery repeatedly with a healthy mind. Perhaps PTSD? He wouldn't be surprised.

After checking the time on the datapad, he went to the bathroom to get himself up to shape. He washed his face when he heard knocking.

"It's open." he said, not turning away from the mirror. After that, the doors beeped quietly, signaling that the guest was inside.

"Shepard, there's something you need to hear." It was Liara. Her tone suggested that the matter was pretty urgent.

"Go ahead." He said, though without much enthusiasm. Liara must have noticed this.

"Is this a bad time?" She asked.

"I was just... thinking about some friends who aren't around thanks to this war." Shepard sighed. He skipped the bit with Saren. He didn't want to scare her.

"That's thanks to the Reapers, not you." Liara defended him, and he was grateful for her support. It's why he appreciated her so much. She was always there for him. "Are you thinking about anyone in particular."

"Kaidan back on Virmire. He died buying us time to defeat Sovereign." He replied with pain. "Seeing what we're up against now, he might think his sacrifice was in vain."

"You know Kaidan would never think that." Liara said.

"Yeah. That's just one more reason I miss him." Shepard nodded and left the bathroom. "You had something for me?"

"Yes, several things actually." She said. "The salarian councilor had an urgent matter, but at the same time, a Carvin High General called to speak with you. They wanted to talk together in the comm room. Maybe they started to treat this summit seriously."

"Well, isn't that interesting." He raised his eyebrow.

"Yes. I'll be waiting downstairs." She finished before leaving the room.

After quickly checking the terminal for messages (one of them being from Wrex), Shepard prepared himself and headed to the elevator. On the Deck 2 he briefly greeted Traynor, then went through the checkpoint where the two security soldiers were commenting about the Reaper on Tuchanka that was killed by a Thresher Maw. Finally he reached the war room, but before he actually entered the comm room, he looked at the updated War Assets table. Krogan have provided a massive boost, and no one questioned why. Their ground fighting capabilities spoke for themselves. Turians also provided a significant boost, most of it being in the form of fleets, but they also sent their engineers to help build the Crucible, as well as their ground forces.

Now it was time to talk with the Salarian Councilor and the Carvin High General. Shepard noticed the call icons from both sources, so he established a connection.

"Commander." Councilor Valern spoke with a very irritated tone. "There's something we should discuss, if you're finished rewriting history."

"Some THINGS. Shepard's attention is not exclusive to the Citadel and the Council." Another voice added, and a hologram of Carvin appeared next to the Salarian. "Hello again, Commander."

"High General Va'Xuun?" Shepard asked, as he only met her and Seviros out of all High Generals.

"Just call me Tivennia. I don't like people using my surname." She said with a humorous tone.

"Can we focus on the issues at hand?" Valern asked annoyed.

"What is it, Councilor?" Shepard asked.

"I have concerns about humanity's representative, Councilor Udina." He said, this time sounding less hostile, but nevertheless with a bit of anger. "My agents have discovered that he's been using his authority to move vast sums of money. For what purpose, we're not sure."

"If Udina's dirty, it's best we get to the bottom of that." Shepard nodded, but something wasn't quite clear. Tivennia wouldn't have contacted him if it was just about Udina. "But if I may ask, what does it have to do with the Carvins? They wouldn't have called without purpose."

"A quite accurate assumption, Commander." Tivennia said with a pleased expression. "We need your help."

Well, saying that Shepard didn't expect such reason would be a blatant lie. Nowadays everyone needed his help, so this wasn't a big surprise.

"*sigh* What do you want me to do?" He asked, still a bit tired after that dream.

"Councilor Valern and I have made a deal. Our agents would help uncover what Udina is doing with that money." Tivennia explained with a more serious face, but Shepard knew there was a catch. "In exchange, we'd like to request your help with preparing an evacuation from one of our besieged worlds."

"And what will you give in return?" Shepard inquired. It might've sounded out of his character, but humanity needed every help they could get, and doing stuff for free would be counterproductive. As painful as the truth was, gratitude alone wouldn't win the war for them.

"We have plans to buy the Empire some time to spin up the military industry. Your assist in evacuation of this particular colony will save us manpower and equipment." High General said. "If we succeed with the operation, we'll be able to contribute a significant portion of our industry to the war effort. Our scientists will assist with the Crucible, and all of our raiding fleets, as well as forces of Seviros and me will be at your disposal."

"Aren't you going to fully contribute?" Commander asked, but Tivennia shook her head.

"We can't, but if the operation you'll participate in succeeds, we'll make sure to gradually devote more resources to your summit. It won't be easy, but you'll have our support. It's the most we can give you at the moment."

"Alright, but even if I agree, how will I even get there?" Shepard asked, as Carvin territory was almost completely inaccessible for eezo-based ships.

"The same way you reached Qreten almost a year ago." She answered. "One of our ships will use its own drive to get you there. You'll be killing Reapers in no-time."

"Huh, I think I could actually use a break." He said humorously.

"We all could." Tivennia nodded understandingly. "But until every last one of these bastards is alive, no rest for us."

"So what will it be, Commander?" Salarian Councilor asked, pretty annoyed by the fact that he was ignored.

Shepard took his time to think. Udina could cause a lot of damage from within if he went crazy. He spent enough time with that man to know that he was dangerously power hungry. On the other hand the big support from the Carvins seemed tempting. He saw them in combat at Qreten and they dealt with the Collectors very well. They would be a formidable ally. And if they promised to help deal with Udina too, then that would be a win-win situation. Maybe they wouldn't get to the bottom of the problem, but at least give him some time to help them, then move on to the problem with the power hungry bastard that Udina was.

"Alright, I'll help you." He finally decided and Tivennia nodded with satisfaction. "One last question. What planet will I assist and what can I expect from it?"

"Funny enough, it's actually Qreten. The colony you helped to save." High General replied with a smile. "They survived the Collectors and are now fighting the Reapers. You've been there, so you know the climat is temperate, though you'll be mostly active in the capital city. And the locals remember you well, so don't worry about them. They'll do anything to help."

"Thank you. I'll be on my way as soon as we refuel." Shepard bowed his head in a gesture of appreciation.

"Meet the ship that will take you to our space in Crescent Nebula in the Ondeste system at these coordinates." She activated her omni-tool, then sent the location of the rendezvous point. "The crew of the awaiting vessel is well acqu We're looking forward to your arrival."

"Got it."

"Well then, it seems that everything is settled." Valern said, his irritated expression stlill remained unchanged though. "I'll be awaiting your return to the Citadel after you accomplish your mission, Commander."

With that being said, both figures have dispelled and the comm room went silent. Shepard sighed, manifesting the entire exhaustion in that single sigh. Tivennia was right. There was no rest for them until every last Reaper was dead. Unfortunately this also meant that they had to get back to work. He turned towards the exit and approached EDI's nearest terminal.

"EDI, tell Joker to set the course to the nearest fuel station. We need to refuel ASAP."

"Affirmative. We're on our way." EDI's hologram briefly appeared on the terminal as he passed it.

After a while he finally reached the cockpit where Joker was relaxing on his pilot seat. The pilot looked pretty tired too. Shepard just noticed that he never saw him leaving the cockpit... then again, it might've just been because of his condidtion. Or maybe he slept there while EDI could take over.

"What's next on our 'to do' list?" he asked while his head was resting on his hand.

"We'll be assisting in evacuation of one of the Carvin colonies. One of their ships will pick us up and take us there." Shepard said and leaned on the pilot seat. "When we're done refueling, set course on Ondeste system in Crescent Nebula. They're supposed to meet us there."

"Roger that, Commander." Joker replied, though his tone suggested that he needed sleep.

"You should rest for a while, Jeff. I can take over until we rendezvous with the Carvins." EDI offered, which... didn't actually surprise Shepard that much. Hell, he encouraged them to try this weird organic-syntetic relationship and it was apparently working.

"I can handle that. Just... give me a moment." Pilot protested, but both his stance and his voice said otherwise.

"You'll crash the Normandy into an asteroid in this state." Shepard said after looking at him from above. "Take a break. It will be some time before we reach the system."

"Ugh... fine." Joker gave in, then set his chair into a position more comfortable for sleeping and closed his eyes.

Shepard left the cockpit, but before the doors closed behind him, he heard Joker murmuring 'Thanks EDI'. A small smile appeared on his face. It seemed that his encouragement worked. And it may just have saved them from crashing into an asteroid. Either way he was happy. Now the only thing that would make him happier would be getting a step closer to defeating the Reapers.

"No rest for us yet." he cited Tivennias words, then headed towards the elevator. With a few extra credits, he could upgrade his N7 Piranha, and the extra punch would be really useful in the upcoming missions. It was time to drop into a REAL warzone.

 **A/N: OK, I know this isn't a usual action-packed chapter, but I can't make the story with only gunshots and explosions. As painful as it may be, people do talk sometimes, so it was inevitable that the 'talking' chapter had to come sooner or later. Nevertheless, we're going back to action in the next chapter. I'll try to write it quick, but no promises, since I'm relaxing in Greece. I have also tweaked the campaign a bit. I also tweaked some things from the vanilla game. Made the dream more... dramatic. I hope that you can bear with my absence and the fact that this chapter isn't action-packed. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	7. Desperate defense

**A/N: Well look who's back. Surprisingly I'm not dead. Sorry for inactivity. You can contribute it to a mix of writer's block, lack of time, and my own laziness. At least I managed to drag my ass here and write this after all. The second rewritten chapter is done too so feel free to check it out. It turned out longer as well which I'm really happy about. I think that I'll be rewriting only two more chapters tops, so it should be easier to update sooner, and make some minor changes to the rest while I write this story. Although given my recent absence, I think that I shouldn't give promises that I can't keep.**

 **REVIEWS**

 **Shadowhorror: Thank you very much for your support. As for Greece... it was hot (and not in a perverted way). But now that I'm back home, I feel a lot better. And the reunion will be in the next chapter so stay tuned.**

 **In all honesty though, don't be afraid of posting your opinions in reviews. The only thing I really request is that it's made in a constructive and well-mannered way. I know that I'm not the best writer out there and I don't want people praising me all the time for what I do. One of the reasons for my writing skills is my limited vocabulary since I'm not a native english speaker. But if you see a way I can improve, or you want to say something about the story, do it. Just remember to be constructive and cultured while you do it. That's all I ask for.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Qreten, Capital city, Industrial district field HQ**

The last assignment Virox and his team had to do was one of the least pleasing ones. Now there were many missions that could do this to various extend, but so far this took the cake. Since the arrival of reinforcements, Command ordered to lead the fresh conscripts into combat to test their combat capabilities and improve their skill. This wouldn't be so bad in itself if there weren't for a few factors. First of all, these guys didn't even get the basic training. They only knew how to hold a gun, shoot it with an acceptable level of accuracy and know basic orders like attack, retreat, take cover, or hold your ground. Second thing was that they were persistently trying feel like they are a part of their team, which was out of the question. Partially because the reasons mentioned earlier, but also because of Two. Embers were still getting over Two's death, and all attempts of the newbies to try to replace him were only irritating them even more.

On the last raid on enemy positions Virox and Embers were leading two teams into combat. One squad was wiped out after they overextended and got gunned down by a Ravager, while the other lost two of its members. For the latter, they developed a grudging respect. They were struck heavily by the loss of their comrades but nontherless gave their best in combat. After that mission they were separated from them and found out later that the remaining soldiers of the conscript team were wiped out by a Reaper Destroyer.

As of that incident Embers have started to loose their cheerful attitude. Virox was no exception. His 'joking' personality has actually turned the form of an 'emotional' personality. He had more temper tantrums

Despite all of this, Embers knew that they couldn't give up. Surrender would mean the anihilation of the Carvin Empire. Of their species. Virox was slowly trying to get that fact through to them before the invasion. He pointed out that war isn't glorious, or at least isn't glorious anymore. It is brutal, full of pain, death, destruction. And when the Reapers hit Qreten, Embers were stuck with a painful truth that everything Virox said was right. They began gradually accepting it, but only now, after experiencing the death of Two, as well as the anihilation of conscripts they led into combat, they finally dropped all of their barriers of denial.

It wasn't sweet to die for the Empire.

It wasn't glorious to die for the Empire.

It wasn't painless to die for the Empire.

But right now, when their species faced extinction once again, every single Carvin had to be ready to do it. Be it soldier or civilian. Adult or child. Because they needed to be ready to make sacrifices for the Empire to survive.

"OK, so are we going to do something or what?" Six asked, breaking the half hour long silence that lasted since they returned to the base. They dodn't wash themselves for over a week, mostly because there was no water to spare.

"Beats me. Don't like sitting on my ass either when people are getting slaughtered in hundreads around us." Five replied.

"We'll go to the HQ and ask if there's anything we can do when Zia and Nalik come back with water and food." Three said while sitting on a pile of rubble.

There was a brief moment of silence again before One raised his head and turned towards Virox who was leaning on the wall of a collapsed store with his eyes closed.

"Sarge? Did... Was it like this during The Great Grox War?" he asked and all other Embers hissed at that. They all knew from experience that bringing up this topic around Virox could end badly, and in some cases even with a few bruises.

But to their surprise Virox just opened his eyes, looked at him and said "Why do you ask this question now?"

"Well... if this war is anything like we faced before... and we won The Great Grox War, then..." One started as he was struggling to get his point through, but seeing the expressions of his teammates stopped him. "Nevermind... just wishful thinking."

He was the youngest one of the Embers apart from Zia and Nalik, though undeniably the most intelligent as well, but it was clear that his youthful positivity and naivety were yet to vanish. One personally liked the position of being some sort of an XO for Virox, since he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to lead effectively with so much responsibility.

"I personally think that those two wars are incredibly different from eachother, which is not necessarily a bad thing." Virox replied after a moment. "Sure there are a few things in common, but not impactful enough to make it simmilar."

"And how's it different?" Six asked and his brother was about to shut him up, but their commander stopped him.

"Well, for starters, we're not alone this time. Sure, some races are full of egocentric assholes that think they can take on the Reapers by themselves, but others know that joint planning and a defensive alliance are necessary to win this." Virox said. "Second is the fact that we knew they were coming. It was only a year to prepare, but at least we had SOME preparation." then his face turned smug for the first time in a few days. "And mind you all, it was ME along with Shepard that warned the Empire about them, so I take this personally."

Embers let out a light chuckle. It was good to see that their commander's cheerfulness was still out there. Recently his 'joking' personality changed to just an 'emotional' one, though his second self remained relatively the same. Same cold and ruthless attitude of an obedient soldier. This little joke was enough to convince the young Carvins that the hope was not yet lost.

"Oh look, kiddos are back with food!" Three suddenly shouted while pointing at two small silhouettes that were closing in.

Nalik was carrying water canteens of each individual soldier, as well as his own, while Zia was holding a few sticks with some kind of red roasted meet impaled on them. They had very unplesant expressions and Embers noticed that both of them were glaring at the meat.

"Oh thank goodness! Finally some food! What kind of meat is that?" Six asked with enthusiasm, but at that moment his stomach let out a pretty loud growl. "Actually scratch that, I don't care. Just give it to me."

Zia started to give sticks with meat to everyone while Nalik returned the canteens to their owners. They still hadn't said anything.

"Why you don't have your own food?" One asked after taking a bite of his meat. "It tastes pretty decent. Juicy yet crispy. Though I bet I know this smell."

"Heh, we... already ate ours on the way here." Zia chuckled, still glaring at the food with disgust.

"You don't seem to be happy about it. You didn't like it? What is this meat anyway?" Six continued with his mouth full and took a sip of water from his canteen.

Nalik looked at his sister with worry and shyly said "It's... it's roasted Cannibal meat."

In that instant almost everyone stopped eating, whatever they were doing. Then Six sprayed the water he just took a sip of all over the ground, along with some of the meat remaining in his mouth.

"*cough* *cough* Ack! *more choking sounds* I'm sorry, say WHAT?" He stared at Zia in disbelief.

"Yeah... that's what they told us and that's what it tastes like." they both said.

"I disagree. For me it isn't that bad." Virox replied to everyone's surprise. He was eating his meat with no disgust, as if it was just another military meal.

"What?" said basically everyone.

"What what?" Virox asked back while calmly eating his portion. "Look, I've eaten worse garbage during The Great Grox War. You don't know how hard it is to get all the wiring out of a Dronox, or even a real Grox to make it edible. And their meat tasted way worse than this. You should be happy."

"I'm not going to question that." Six said and gave his meat a second look. "Then again, before you revealed its origin, this thing was actually pretty good. Still is if you think about it."

"Yeah, but didn't they have anything else in the storage? I mean if they give us this, then the supply lines must be in a very bad shape." Seven pointed out.

"They... there's no supply line." Zia replied after a moment to everyone's surprise. "High General Indrigan passed the word to all HQ's. We're on our own."

Embers fell silent for a moment as they ate their meal, trying to piece together the recent decisions that just didn't quite add up.

"But... but what about the million of conscripts that arrived here?" One finally asked. "Were they just a chaotic response? All these lives lost for nothing?"

They turned towards Virox for opinion, but he shrugged. "I bet there's some deeper shit to this that we don't know of. Sometimes it is best not to know."

As they finished their food and drinks, Embers grabbed their gear and headed towards the HQ company detatchment. No one said a word, but they all wanted to ask about the supplies and the sudden decision to abandon Qreten. Along the way they began noticing some weird things. First was the much smaller number of soldiers around. And it wasn't because of the mounting casualties. They would know. Second, those who did remain however were moving around quickly, lifting carrying packages, checking weapons, etc. Something was going on, but it seemed that everyone knew what apart from them.

"Hey, what's happening?" Six asked one of the passing Carvins who was carrying a crate of weapons and ammo. "Why's everyone suddenly in such a hurry?"

"Orders from the high command. We're changing plans and we'll be moving to guerilla warfare. That's what I've heard anyway." Soldier replied and continued walking.

This particular message was very disturbing and all Embers knew why. Carvin doctrine almost NEVER utilizes guerilla warfare unless a planet was captured and the invaders were attempting to subdue the resistance. But using guerilla in a conventional battle could only mean two things in Carvin army. It was A: There was no retreat and the objective was to deal as much damage to enemy forces in the long run as possible; or B: It was used as a delaying tactic to buy time for something else. Both options were relevant in this situation, which only worried the Embers more.

Finally they reached the actual HQ where there was even more movement as the equipment was transported from everywhere to who-knows-where. Major was leaning on the holotable, studying the map of the industrial district with a cold and focused expression.

"Assign squads Thunder 2 and Predator to a new cell that will operate from this house. Talon 2 and Maardin will form another cell to work from here. We need the soldiers to constantly hamper enemy operations in this sector." He was giving orders and sliding symbols of the aforementioned teams with his fingers to various spots on the holomap. "And get the Embers to come here. We need them to recover that data cache."

"We're already here, sir." Virox said as the Embers entered the room. "You were looking for us?"

"As a matter of fact all commanders of nearby field HQs were looking for their best troops for this assignment. This is very important." Major replied and finally raised his head.

"We're flattered sir, but what's going on? It seems like the HQ is moving out of here." Virox pointed out.

"That's because it is, or will be once you do the job I'm about to give you." The higher ranking Carvin said and sighed. "High General Indrigan has ordered us to switch to guerilla tactics in the city. It will prevent us from conducting strong and precise strikes on Reaper controlled teritory, but will also allow us to harrass their forces constantly and buy the Command time for whatever he has planned."

So that was what it was all about. Indrigan must've had some kind of plan which he needed time to conduct. Virox just hoped that it wasn't 'kill as many Reapers as we can before we die' kind of plan. Then again Indrigan, while not much of a space strategist was exceptional at leading ground forces and deeply cared about his soldiers. Leaving them all to die was just not his style.

"Alright, what do we have to do?" Virox finally asked and Major leaned at the holotable again while Embers surrounded it to see everything.

"About an hour ago one of our transport ships crashed around two kilometers from our position." Major started and pointed at a location on the map. Indeed there was a wreckage of a Carvin military freighter. "It contained a data cache from our recovery teams that managed to get some inner Reaper components scanned. This data could provide us with Reaper weaknesses both about their structure and their algorythms. Your job is to recover that data cache undamaged if possible. From the reports of our local forces in that area, Reapers seem to ignore the wreckage so far. Either because they don't know the content, they don't think it survived, or just don't care. It's irrelevant. Get that data cache here ASAP so we can move out."

"Yes sir!" All Carvins saluted and Virox waved at them.

"Alright guys, let's go get that data cache." He said decisively and all Embers followed him to the exit. It was yet another mission that somewhat fit into the bigger picture in a way they could only speculate about.

 **Over Qreten, Normandy Sr-2, War room**

Given the fact that Qreten held its ground basically from the beggining of the Reaper invasion on Carvin teritory, Shepard expected it to be rough. But seeing what was left of the city, as well as the absence of Carvin fleets both horrified him and made him admire Carvin determination.

"EDI, talk to me." He said while examining the map of the planet.

"Almost all Carvin space vessels have withdrawn from the planet. It will be difficult to land in the capital city without a serious risk of being shot down." EDI replied through the comms. "However, the absence of military vessels is quite concerning, since High Generals have requested our help in evacuating the planet."

"Agreed. Let's hail the High General. We need to know what this is all about." Shepard said and moved to the comm room. After a moment a figure of a decorated, yet pretty battered Carvin appeared.

"Ah Commander. Considering the fact that you're contacting me, you must have arrived at Qreten." High General Indrigan raised his head. It seemed that he was busy with something.

"We are ready to deploy to aid the fight on the surface, but the concentration of Reaper forces in the capital city is too big for us to land there." Shepard replied. "And could you explain why there are no ships to evacuate the people?"

"I'll explain everything once we meet in person. Right now I need you to come to our main planetary HQ, just outside the city. We have some..." In that moment General pulled out a pistol and shot at something above him. A moment after a husk corpse fell down next to him. "...problems. Reapers are slowly turning their eyes towards us. We could use your help here."

"Got it, I'm on my way." Shepard said and stepped away from the table. As he passed by one of EDI's terminals he added "EDI, tell Garrus and Javik to get down to the hangar bay."

"Acknowledged." AI said.

The elevator stopped two times to pick up Garrus and Javik, then finally opened the doors to the Deck 5. Cortez was probably already in the shuttle since he was nowhere to be seen.

Garrus picked up his Black Widow sniper rifle that Shepard managed to get his hands on due to his Spectre status, while Javik stayed with his trusty Particle Rifle they recovered from his stasis pod. Commander himself chose N7 Piranha that became his favorite due to its firing speed and mag size, as well as N7 Eagle for the same reasons. After that they went to the shuttle where Cortez was already waiting for them.

"I am quite concerned about your choice to take me on this particular mission." Javik said as they took their seats.

He probably had justification for these concerns, since from what he said, Carvins were... created? Bred? Raised? to fight the Protheans.

"That's precisely the reason I decided to take you." Shepard replied. "We need to learn to trust eachother no matter how much we don't like one another. We just cured the genophage with the Turian help, so that speaks for something."

"Wait. What's all that about?" Garrus asked with confused expression.

"Nothing that should concer you, Turian." Prothean anwsered coldly.

They finally felt the shuttle leaving Normandy's hangar, and screens displaying combat data slowly came to life.

"Commander, I've got the coordinates of the Carvin HQ, but the concentration of Reaper forces on the surface is so massive, we'll have to take a very long route to remain undetected." Cortez said from the cockpit.

The camera footage in the shuttle was only confirming that. At least 5 capital ships were seen in the city, more probably somewhere. Reapers had complete air superiority with Oculi flying freely above what was left of the city. The city...

Shepard's heart stopped a beat when he saw that. All buildings were reduced to rubble. No structure was taller than 15 meters. What their cameras could pick up was even more horrifying. Carvins were fighting a hopeless fight in the ruins of the dying city. No air, artillery or armored support, yet they still kept fighting. Shepard had seen the capital city of Qreten only once, during the Collector attack, and seeing it now in this state... the same could happen to Earth.

"Carvins are tough bastards. If anyone can survive in a war torn city like this one without loosing hope or sanity, it's them." Garrus said while looking at the images on the screen.

No one commented on that. Partially because a few seconds later the shuttle was shaken by a blast to the rear.

"Damn it! Reaper fighters on our tail! Evasive maneuvers!" Cortez shouted, but Shepard knew that they wouldn't stand a chance. Kodiaks were designed like bricks and behaved like bricks. While it could take a hit, it could never outmaneuver the incredibly fast Oculi.

"Head straight for the Carvin HQ! With any luck they'll have some AA guns still operational!" He ordered and felt the shuttle turn sharply.

Based on the sounds outside, he guessed that at least three Oculi were chasing them. This was really bad news since even the kodiak couldn't resist such firepower for long. Their shuttle was taking a hit after hit, yet by some miracle its barriers were holding.

"Barriers at 7%! We won't be able to stop the next hit!" Cortez practically screamed from the cockpit.

But then an explosion shook the ship. It took them a moment to realize that it was not their ship that exploded. Shepard opened the left door and saw the Carvin HQ, badly damaged but with most of its primary defense systems still running. The bulky AA towers were now tracking the kodiak but didn't fire. But the base itself was under attack. He could see the firefight and flashes of lasers.

"Alliance vessel, identify yourself!" a voice said through the speakers.

"This is Commander Shepard from the Alliance! We're here by the request of your High General. Permission to land." Shepard replied.

"Negative. Our landing pads are under attack. You can drop off there, but landing is too dangerous." The (probably) traffic controller explained.

"We'll do that. Tell us where you need help the most." Shepard said.

"West flank. You can drop off by the rear fortifications." Controller informed. "I'll inform Indrigan of your arrival."

Shepard turned towards his squadmates. "Alright, this is it! Stick to cover and focus on the most dangerous enemies! I'll charge forward and try to disrupt their attack!"

At first glance his strategy was at least reckless. However Shepard was now making extensive use of his biotic talents. He often charged at the enemies, packed two to three shots from his Piranha, then charge away to the next enemy. That way he could rapidly kill or badly hurt the deadliest opponents, leaving the Reapers without their main shock units. And both Javik and Garrus could quickly finish of any wounded enemies who forced Shepard to charge away.

Cortez quickly lowered the shuttle to the designated area and opened the left door. "Now Commander!"

(Play Halo 5: Guardians "Sentry Battle" - Kazuma Jinnouchi)

Shepard and his team quickly jumped out and turned towards the onslaught that was happening in front of them.

"Go! Go! Go!" He ordered and all three of them quickly took positions in one of the hastly dug trenches with four more Carvin soldiers inside. "What's the situation, soldier?"

"What do you think!?" Carvin closest to him asked sarcastically. "They're kicking our asses hard! These Ravagers are wrecking our fortifications! These guys could really use a breather!"

He pointed at a proper fortification that looked like a more futuristic version of a pillbox. It was being constantly bombarded and only sporadically some soldiers inside would try to return fire.

"We'll deal with that!" Shepard said and turned towards his squadmates. "Garrus, you focus on the Ravagers as well! Javik, your weapon lacks range so take out these Marauders!"

Both gave him a "Yes Commander!" and started firing at the advancing husks alongside the Carvins.

Meanwhile Shepard switched his ammo to Incendiary, and prepared to charge. He felt the familiar tingling of his biotics before launching himself at the nearest Ravager. Creature stumbled away a few steps and before it could recover, Shepard fired two shots into its belly. Most of the egg sacks got blown up, releasing Swarmers, but Shepard had a little surprise. He concentrated his barrier energy into his fist and released a deadly blast that killed both the little bugs as well as the wounded Ravager.

Next he charged at the second Ravager. This time though it wasn't as smooth. Shepard caught the creature off guard, since he charged at it from the side, but that way he was exposed to the enemy fire much more. Just like before he fired two shots, but his barriers were quickly reduced to 30% when the nearby Cannibals focused their fire on him.

"Damn it!" he grumbled since he couldn't use the Nova. It would lead him both exposed and without barriers. Instead he used his biotics to dash away from the wounded Ravager which started to turn around, but then its head was blown by a bullet dead between it's eyes.

Shepard repeated this maneuver over and over, trying to get rid of as many Ravagers as possible. After taking out all the bugs, he moved to Brutes, but it was clear that the assault was stopped. No longer suppressed by the explosive fire from the Ravagers, Carvins started to fire at the Reapers with what Shepard could only assume was some sort of heavy machine guns. The main difference though was that the shots were quite literally melting the retreating husks and fired at a speed higher than anything he ever saw. Soon all enemies were either dead or far enough to leave them be. In a few seconds not even one was to be seen.

"I think we've got all of them. For now at least." Garrus said through the earpiece in his helmet.

"Roger, I'm on my way back." Shepard replied and slowly walked back towards his squadmates.

Along the way he looked at the state of the HQ. It was badly damaged to say the least, but not as badly as the main city. Soldiers who went out of their trenches to get more ammo or first aid kits looked exhausted. Some had bloodshot eyes so strong that he turned away to not look too long. Their armors usually had holes or metallic patches made of whatever was at hand. One of the more wounded soldiers approached a corpse of a dead Cannibal, cut off a piece of its meat and started eating it raw.

Shepard finally rejoined his teammates who were talking to one of the Carvin soldiers.

"He's almost there. Should be-" Garrus was saying, but then noticed him approaching. "Oh there he is."

"Commander Shepard?" Carvin looked at him, examining his face and armor. "High General Indrigan wants to see you. Follow me."

They followed him as he asked. He led them into the main HQ complex through the damaged hangar bay. To his surprise Shepard noticed various types of armament insisde, most of them completely undamaged. There were tanks, a few fighters, IFVs, APCs, crates full of weapons that he didn't recognize. Were Carvins just holding back all these supplies while their people were dying? If that was the case, he was going to talk with the High General about it.

After a moment they entered a more tight section of the facility. Corridors they passed through bore signs of fighting, which meant that Reapers probably breached Carvin perimeter a few times. Finally Carvin soldier that led them stopped by the door guarded by two other Carvins. They didn't say anything, but the rings on their visors started to spin rapidly and after a moment they opened the door.

"...and redirect the 2nd company of the 6th regiment to these coordinates. They have some experienced soldiers and civilians we'll evacuate." a lower, but still Carvin voice came from the center of the room. Thanks to the medals and insignia of the Carvin that spoke, Shepard immediately knew that this was the High General. Carvin looked up at him, and with a hand gesture invited them to join him.

"I still don't understand why primitives insist on decorating eachother to show their rank." Javik said from behind, but the Carvin heard him.

"Nobody expects you to." He replied emotionlessly.

"High General Indrigan, you requested our assistance. Is there any way we can help at the moment?" Shepard interrupted the exchange before it could escalate.

"As a matter of fact yes." Indrigan nodded and he led them to the holotable of the main room (A/N: damn they have so many holotables). "We're starting to move the targets of higher priority to prepare for extraction. First up are civilians, then soldiers sorted by their recent performance."

"With all due respect, but how do you expect to perform evacuation with no ships? We saw that your fleets have retreated from the system." Shepard pointed out.

"Indeed they did, to avoid additional casualties. But we already have a plan to get out as much soldiers and equipment from this planet as possible." Indrigan replied.

"Soldiers? I thought we are evacuating civilians." Shepard said in surprise.

"And we are, but to understand the motives of the command of a certain army, you need to know some basic information about it." Indrigan explained and the holotable image changed from the city into the Milky Way and tactical data about the capabilities of the Carvin Empire. "We have enough manpower to reinforce our units for longer than any of you. But despite all of this manpower, conscripts lack experience that will be necessary to defeat the Reapers in this war. We cannot just throw our people into the meat grinder hoping to jam it."

"That doesn't answer my question." Shepard stated coldly. "Why are you evacuating soldiers over civilians?"

Indrigan stopped looking at the holotable, then turned towards the Commander and looked him deep in the eyes.

"There are no civilians in this war, Commander." He said, his voice suddenly changing to a growl. "A worker in the factory, a farmer on an agricultural colony, a construction worker. ALL of them are soldiers. No war can be won without the society contributing to the effort. And with a war like this, you'll need to have every man, woman and child working together to stop the Reapers." he then sighed and his voice turned back to normal. "He who tries to defend everything, defends nothing. That's a quote from your own people. Humans are too idealistic about the war. Your history reflects that. You often try to save everyone, even when it's not possible. So please let us do it our way and I'll personally advocate for diverting as much of our resources as possible to your summit."

Shepard was processing what he just heard. He looked at all the Carvins in the room. Some of them had civilian clothing, but were doing their jobs without hesitation. No other species was so... cooperating? Integrated? Altruistic? They were working like an efficient machine, so much so that it felt out of place. Shepard never saw something like this. The closest comparison he had were the Turians, but this... this was just unnatural. Then again he didn't have much choice at the moment.

"Alright. What do you need?" He finally asked. Indrigan's expression remained the same, but he led them back to the holotable.

"One of our companies has some soldiers that have both experience and some good equipment. They have the least amount of replacements since the beginning of the invasion." Carvin started and the holotable displayed what was probably a makeshift outpost. "However they are yet to begin their evacuation since their best squad is on a mission to retrive a data cache that could provide us with Reaper weaknesses." He turned towards Shepard. "Once they return or are labeled as MIA or KIA, you'll help escort them to this base. I'll tell you what next when you return."

"Ok, we can move as soon as possible." Shepard nodded, and Indrigan looked at the Carvin who led them to the main HQ.

"Tarox, lead them to the armory. They can take whatever they want. Next tell the 13th mechanized platoon to get ready to move. They'll escort them to the city and help to cover the retreat of the 6th." He ordered and the soldier saluted then headed towards the exit.

"I gues we're supposed to follow him." Garrus concluded, confused about the Carvin's reaction, or lack thereof.

There was no reply, so they followed the soldier who Indrigan named Tarox. He was walking fast and they had trouble keeping up with him. The narrow corridors and the other passing Carvins were making it even more difficult, but they somehow managed to not loose him. Finally they reached the door guarded by another two guards.

"They have permission from the top." Tarox said simply and two soldiers looked at eachother for a moment before opening the door and stepping away.

The armory was a big room with weapon stands on the left, and both charging stations and ammunition on the right. Apart from normal small arms there were also grenade launchers, rocket launchers, mines, grenades, what looked like machine guns, and even automated sentries. But most surprising were the cybernetic body parts like legs, arms and tails.

"Grab what you need." Tarox gestured at the supplies emotionlessly.

"Uh, do you have any thermal clips? You know, since we don't use energy based weapons." Garrus asked, not seeing anything that looked like what he needed as ammo for his Black Widow. Tarox gestured his hand to follow him and led them to a box in the corner of the room. There were indeed thermal clips inside, but not more than a dozen.

"It's everything we have for your type of weapons." He said. It was now that Shepard took a closer look at him. What was remaining of his armor had patches ON patches everywhere. The damage of his implants should've rendered them inoperable, yet they still somehow worked. His eyes had lost most of their green colour. Multiple cuts on his face were had dried blood around them. No wonder he was so emotionless.

Shepard and his team took all the remaining clips as well as a few plasma grenades, most of them carried by Javik. Tarox then led them back to the hangar where they came from and approached three APCs, and Carvin soldiers preparing to head out.

"You got the message?" Tarox asked the Carvins.

"What do you think? We'd be still sitting on our asses doing absolutely nothing if we didn't." One of them replied from the top of one of the APCs. Tarox ignored that and turned towards Shepard.

"They'll take care of the rest." He simply said before walking away.

"Well so much for friendly interactions I suppose." Garrus commented while Javik muttered something that included the word 'primitives'.

"You're the guys we're going to transport?" The Carvin who first spoke to Tarox jumped down, and not waiting for an answer he pointed at the vehicle behind him. "Hop in. We're up for a bumpy ride."

'At least he's showing some emotions.' Shepard thought and hopped inside the vehicle.

The engines were ignited and all three vehicles left the hangar. As they passed by the trenches, Shepard looked at the exhausted Carvins preparing makeshift barricades. How many of them were like that emotionless Carvin who led them to the armory?

"You've met Tarox?" A voice behind him asked. He turned around to see the Carvin who greeted them. Now he noticed a Carvin equivalent of an officer bar on his chest. The vehicle commander. "Bet you noticed his behaviour."

"How many soldiers are like him?" Shepard asked, still trying to process what he saw.

"Not many. Though you don't want to be on the recieving end of their guns."

"Can they even fight in that state?" Shepard shook his head in disbelief.

"They do. We call them The Hopeless. They don't care if they die or not. Their only urge is to kill as many enemies as they can before they end up in the afterlife." Carvin said with a mix of awe and pity.

"The Hopeless?" Garrus joined the discussion. "Well that's an edgy name if I've ever heard one."

"We call them like that because they stop believing in any chance of salvation. Loose hope, but not the will to fight. Quite opposite." Carvin explained, but then turned his attention to Javik sitting in the corner. "Your friend over there smells really good. Like a good meal I didn't have for almost two weeks."

When he mentioned 'meal', Javik tensed up. Shepard saw him placing his hand on the Particle rifle next to his leg. "I wouldn't recommend that." He said through clenched teeth.

"Hey, don't fret. We wouldn't eat the guys who offered help to us." Vehicle commander chuckled and turned back to Shepard. "When you are in the city, be mindful of the guys who fight there. Some of them stayed there since the beginning."

"Noted." Shepard nodded and wondered how many 'Hopeless' will they find in the city. How many 'normal' Carvins will there be.

 **Meanwhile**

 **Industrial district**

While the outskirts of the city were really silent, the closer you got to the center, the louder it was. Firefights happened behind just about every corner. Embers had difficulty to move unnoticed. Not that they couldn't deal with a few husks by themselves, but time was short and the longer it took them to recover that data cache, the more Carvins would die.

"Quickly! We'll take a shortcut through this building!" Virox ordered his soldiers. The 'house' was a gigantic exaggeration. What was left were a few walls supporting the general structure, the stairs that led to nothing, and a broken window. Embers didn't complain. Quite opposite. On their left there was a firefight going on and they would have probably been included if not for this shortcut.

They moved swiftly, trying to stop as little as possible, but they didn't want to bump into enemy who would stall them for much longer. No one except Virox said a word since they left the field HQ. Right now they were completely focused on the mission.

Virox led the team through the ruins of the city, when suddenly he heard a growl. He raised his fist to halt the Embers who obeyed.

Another growl, and this time Virox listened more carefully. It sounded like a Carvin, but not quite. Something was wrong.

"Move on my signal." He ordered and started to quietly advance from cover to cover, each time looking forward to check for hostiles.

After a fourth run, he noticed something that surprised him. A lone Carvin was walking through the street. He looked like he was completely exhausted, collapsing on his knees every few steps.

Virox had an urge to go help him, but his guts told him that something was off with that. Instead he pressed a button on his earpiece and said "To me. Move in pairs every 5 seconds. Seven goes with kids."

Embers gave a quick "Copy." and started moving as he ordered. When they finally reached his position, two more Carvins appeared, moving the same way the first one did.

"We don't know what's wrong with them. They might be in shock, so weapons ready." Virox ordered. "I'll approach them. Fire only on my command."

Even with their emotions suppressed by the complete focus on the mission, it was clear that Embers didn't like this idea, but since no one had a better idea, they nodded reluctantly.

After readying his weapon Virox left his cover and headed towards the strangely acting Carvins. As he got closer, they started to become more agitated. They turned towards him and began twitching.

"You alright?" Virox asked, but given the reaction of the Carvins, he raised his weapons and aimed at them. "Listen, don't move and we can solve this pea-"

But then, when one of the Carvins looked him in the eyes, he saw that one of his eyes was black. No, it was replaced... with a cybernetic one.

It was a millisecond and the Carvin dashed towards him with an unnatural speed. He saw a blurred image of what looked like an Omni-blade, and suddenly a bright flash blinded him for a second.

Virox blinked a few times and saw the Carvin who charged at him on his kneels and holding his face. Two other Carvins stared at him for a while. And then everything went crazy.

His combat instincts took over. The pair of Carvins roared and charged at him. Virox dodged a swipe and fired two shots at the nearest enemy. The other one slammed the ground where he stood a second ago and received a barrage in the back. Suddenly more laser bolts cut through the air and Embers joined the fight.

They tried to distract the feral Carvins from Virox and it seemed to have worked. The problem was that these feral Carvins moved quicker than anything they've ever seen. One of them swiped at Three who was launched backwards. Other Embers managed to stall their enemy and it soon turned into a close-quarters fight.

Meanwhile Virox was fighting the Carvin who attacked him first. He found out that trying to melee these guys was a horrible idea. Instead he tried to attack them from short range using his rifle in shotgun mode. Problem was that it was doing little but infuriate the feral Carvin. After a last shot to the torso, Virox decided to switch to the Void shotgun.

The Carvin must've sensed the danger because his attacks were more frequent and Virox barely managed to save his face. However luck was to run out for him as the feral Carvin grabbed his arm and pulled, slamming him into the ground. Virox barely managed to maintain a grip on his weapon, but his arm was stomped on by the Carvin he fought. His enemy let out a loud roar and Omni-blades appeared on both of his hands. But before he could deal a final blow, Virox used his remaining strength to activate his knuckle blades and stab him in the head. He then twisted his arm and pulled towards himself, tearing the head clean off.

It took him a moment to recover, but he stood up to see how others were doing. The Embers seemed to have dealt with the first feral Carvin and focused on the last one. Zia suspended him in the air using her biotics, allowing the rest to unleash a devastating barrage that no one would be able to withstand.

"What the fuck was with those guys!?" Six asked while looking at the corpses. "They went nuts or something?"

"No." Virox shook his head and kneeled beside one of the bodies. He then turned it to the other side, exposing a cybernetic eye he saw before. "See? Reaper tech for sure. They must've figured out how to bypass our mind failsafe against control." He then faced his soldiers again. "Whoever disobeyed my order to hold your fire, thanks."

"Just doing our job, sir." Seven shrugged.

"Alright. We'll move out and I'll contact the HQ to inform them about this new threat." Virox said and as they continued walking, he activated his transmitter. "Field HQ 03 this is Ember team. We have encountered Carvin-based husks. Extremely agile, incredibly tough and very dangerous in close quarters."

"Copy that. We'll inform all units about these husks. Field HQ 03 out." Was the reply.

"Alright, we need to reach that wreckage fast. Double time, people!" Virox turned towards his soldiers.

But when they took one more turn, they saw their target: a small, military transport vessel, roughly 120 meters long. It was in two pieces. Engines broke off on impact and stayed far from the rest. The main part of the hull was stuck in the middle of the street, but remained mostly intact. That's where their target probably was.

"Wow. That's one hell of a nasty crash." Six commented.

"No enemies in sight yet, so keep your guard up. We'll stick together and move into the cargo bay and the bridge, then look for that data cache." Virox ordered, then pointed his hand forward. "Go."

There was no splitting up this time. Embers moves forward in a perfect wedge formation despite the terrain. Surprisingly, no bodies were lying on the ground in this area, which was strange, considering the fact that no area of the city was spared from the fights.

"Ok, One, Three, Six, and Nalik will go up to the bridge and check if the data cache is on the bridge." Virox said. "I'll go with the rest and check the cargo bay."

"Yes sir." They all replied surprisingly quietly and headed each to their designated area.

Cargo bay was taking most of the ship's space. There were crates of supplies and weapons everywhere, but as much as they wanted to take that stuff, Embers knew their objective.

"Open each crate that is somehow different from the rest." Virox ordered, then approached a black crate and opened it. It only contained combat rations, desperately needed by others, but useless to them.

"I think I found something!" Seven shouted from behind the crates. "Oh nevermid, it's a visor component."

"You sure?" Zia asked after moving a box of automated sentries.

"Yeah, scanned it. There's no disc in that thing." Seven replied.

"Keep looking." Virox said.

After a few minutes of searching, Virox's earpiece came to life.

"Uncle, this is Nalik." said the voice. "I think I found it. The data was stored in one of the spare data discs of the ship's black box. Clever. I'm extracting the disc."

"Nice one. We'll meet you at the entrance." Virox said and shouted to the others "Alright, they got it! Let's get the hell out of here!"

Embers were more than happy to comply. They stoop searching, though Zia took three bags of MRE's for whatever reason. After a while they met up with the rest of the team. They looked quite satisfied and a few patted Nalik on the back.

"You ok?" Virox asked.

"We're as fine as we could be. That kiddo really has some skills." Six chuckled. "He figured out how the ship crashed in just ten seconds. Hell if I didn't see-"

But before he could finish, a sharp sound cut through the air, and a bullet pierced his skull, spraying the walls with blue blood.

For three seconds that felt like eternity, Embers watched in shock as their comrade collapsed. Virox's heart was struck by a crushing wave of grief.

"BROTHER!!!"

 **A/N: So, I guess that this long break caused a Game of Thrones syndrome. Hate me all you want. More are yet to die. I feel like Mass Effect really didn't show the level of death that the Reapers caused. I'm willing to change that. So I HOPE I can return to my routine, but no promises. Carry on!**

 **Bonker our!**


	8. The Sacrifice

**A/N: Hello there! Oh joy, you didn't need to wait another month for my another upload. YAY! On a serious note, I know I'm a terrible person for updating like that, but school just started 'n other shit. Gimme some time and I'll be back in action. I also did a bit of re-writting of the first chapter of FGP 1, explaining Carvin history. Made it a bit more realistic, switched some dates, added new stuff, etc. Hope you guys like it.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: Yeah, I figured this idea was a nice little touch to what I wrote earlier.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Qreten, Capital city, Industrial district, freighter wreckage**

"AMBUSH!" One screamed as suddenly Cannibals and Marauders appeared seemingly out of nowhere. All Embers dashed to any cover they could find, trying to save their lives.

Virox pressed his side to the freighter's interior wall, tightening the grip on his weapon. But when he looked up, he saw Seven standing above his dead brother. Motionless. Paralyzed. Virox could swear he saw his jaw flinch. Seven kneeled besides the coprse, his hands shaking. He then looked at the weapon beside the body. The new Thanix LMG that Six used since the mission at the hospital. Now Virox could clearly see that Seven's body was all shaking.

"You..." He growled like a wild animal and grabbed the weapon along with the ammo bag from his brother's back. "YOU MONSTERS!"

In that instant, the weapon came to life, seemingly spewing live fire at the incoming husks. Seven rushed forward, weapon in hand, in a blind rage to avenge his fallen brother. Cannibals opened fire, but he didn't flinch, even when the barriers went down. In his hands, the LMG became a machine of death. Virox was about to peak out and try to draw some fire away from him, but then he heard growling from behind. His instincts kicked in and he placed a shot directly between the eyes of the Cannibal that just emerged.

"They're behind us." he realized with fear and turned towards his squad. "We're surrounded! We need to get out of here!"

More Cannibals and Marauders started to crawl their way through the ship, attempting to close the encirclement. Virox was taking them out one by one, but their sheer numbers were starting to put the pressure on them. There was no way they'd survive if they stayed here.

"Zia! Get your barrier ready!" He yelled.

"Got it!" The girl shouted back. "I can shield you whenever you're ready!"

"Everyone! On my signal, concentrate around Zia! We're gonna break through!" Virox shouted to his comrades who nodded in agreement. He raised his fist up so everyone could see it, then pulled it down and screamed "NOW!"

Embers broke from cover and rushed towards Zia while blindly shooting at the incoming enemies. Zia raised her arms up and her hands began to glow as a purple bubble surrounded the team, then they started to run forward. Barrier only stopped physical projectiles, which allowed the Embers to keep firing at the enemies while remaining protected from the incoming fire. The only concern was how long could the young and inexperienced Zia hold against the overwhelming amount of enemies.

Only Seven didn't join. He was still slaughtering the incoming husks in blind rage. His armor was already pierced in several spots, but it didn't seem to bother him. Virox growled, but it was a growl of fear. It was not an uncommon sight for him during the Great Grox War, but it almost always resulted in death of a soldier consumed by this rage. None who he had seen in this state survived the fight.

"Push forward! I'll get Seven!" He ordered, then left the protective bubble and started running towards the last squadmate. Seven didn't notice him, but Virox managed to pull his hand just in time before a grenade exploded where he was standing just a second ago.

"Grrr!" Seven grunted and liberated himself from Virox's grip, but continued running alongside him. It seemed that he came back to reality for now

"Get a grip, or we're all going to die!" Virox snapped at him as they dodged the incoming fire. Seven just growled again, but didn't protest.

However their luck was soon to run out. They saw that the purple bubble ahead started to flicker. Zia couldn't protect them from so much gunfire. After a moment the barrier vanished completely and Virox noticed the girl falling on the ground unconcious.

"No!" He screamed as his body went into maximum overdrive. "NO!"

He left Seven behind him and ran towards her, passing the Embers behind cover. He was about to kneel beside her, but suddenly a salvo took down his shields, and the strength of the projectiles were enough to daze him. He somehow managed to crawl away and hide behind a piece of a wall.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Voice came from his side. Three was doing his best to stay behind cover. Virox looked at him and saw fear. Panic. Desperate desire to run. When he looked at the others, they all shared this expression. He saw that they knew they could die. Here, in the ruins of this dying city.

The husks just kept coming. Every dead Cannibal was replaced with another two. They didn't even stop to take cover. A giant, fearless mass of mindless corpses was slowly swallowing them whole. There was no escape. No retreat. It was now that Virox realized that this was a trap all along. A trap they have so easily fallen into.

'No. We have to get that data out of here! And we'll do it together or die trying!' Virox thought as he recovered from the daze. He turned towards Nalik, who was the closest one to Zia, but couldn't get to her without exposing himself too much. "Nalik! Get your sister! We'll cover you!" Then he looked at the Embers, who were suddenly snapped out of the paralyzing fear by the sudden flow of orders. "Covering fire in 3! 2! 1! Go!"

Somehow this was enough for them to recover. Together, like a well oiled machine, Embers all peaked out and started spraying the area with laser bolts. Seven put his LMG on what used to be a window frame and began laying waste to anything that moved withing his line of fire. Nalik used this opportunity to quickly run out of cover and grab his sister's hand. He then dragged her to his cover.

"Give her something to wake her up!" Virox shouted without turning around.

"Got it!" Nalik shouted back, then pulled out an adrenaline shot and after wincing stabbed the needle into Zia's neck and injected the substance.

But despite this small victory, husks were still coming there was no end of them in sight. One would think that the force of the entire district suddenly concentrated in this one point. Even with the Embers thinking moderately rationally, Virox had to think of a solution. And fast. Otherwise he would have blood of every one of them on his hands.

"HQ 03, this is Virox! We're in some deep shit and need support!" He literally screamed to his communicator, but was met with silence. "We've got the data, but we've been ambushed by a superior force! We! Need! Backup!"

The response was just static. Virox was on the verge of despair, but couldn't give up now. He made the last, desperate move and activated his distress beacon on all frequencies. Use of this function was extremely limited, and even prohibited on missions such as this one, but he didn't care. He was going to save his team.

'Hopefully these assholes pick up the signal and bother to help us.' He thought and the rational part of his broken mind laughed at him. They were just expendable soldiers. With some greater plan in motion, who would bother to help them? Still the foolish hope was the only thing keeping him from giving up.

"Hold your ground! Don't let them near Zia!" He ordered and immediately regreted it. Zia wouldn't be able to raise a barrier for herself if she'd wake up. But what other choice did he have?

With pain he adjusted his grip on the weapon and turned towards the endless horde of husks.

 **Meanwhile with Shepard**

 **Qreten's Capital City, Outskirts of Industrial district**

The city was dead.

Or at least it appeared to be. As the convoy entered the proper city part, Shepard was met with a sight of ruins, corpses and smoke from some burning buildings. If not for the sounds of fighting, as well as the giant Reaper ships a few killometers away, he would be convinced that there was nothing left alive.

"Damn..." Garrus said from his seat. "I've heard the rumors on the Citadel that this planet was still resisting. But to suffer so much and still fight..."

"If you want to survive, you'll have to fight for every system, every planet, every city like that." Javik said with a low and emotionless voice.

"An optimist, eh?" Vehicle commander chuckled and stood up to get a better look on the city through the open side door. He then turned towards Garrus. "Rumors are true as you see. I was here since Day 1, but didn't stay in the city for long. Just like most of the mechanized and advanced forces, we were pulled out of the city to the bases like you saw before. We assisted only a few times, like that one mission to extract a bunch of civies out of a city hospital and deliver weapons from supply drops to the HQ we're heading to right now. It was a tough mission but we made it through."

Shepard didn't reply, partially due to the fact that he was still processing what he heard from Indrigan back in the base. The vision of Total War he presented to him was so horrifying that Shepard wanted to believe it was not true. However hearing the vehicle commander speak like that, and seeing the city in such state only confirmed his thoughts: this city, just like Carvins themselves, would rather die as it lived for the last few weeks. Clenching its teeth.

"How many have you lost here?" He finally asked.

"Overall?" Carvin commander looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. "I think around one million two hundred thousand. Including the civies and space battles."

"That's not that many actually, considering the reports from other planets." Shepard said with surprise.

"Well, the first days of fighting weren't exactly happening on the ground. Reapers were testing our defenses, and the now inoperable ion cannon was clearly a pain in the ass for them." Carvin explained. "Casualties started mounting just recently, when the Reapers actually landed, and then when about a million conscripts was somehow shipped here from inner worlds. These guys couldn't fight for shit by themselves. From what I know most of them were then led by experienced soldiers and even now I bet at least a quarter of them is dead now."

That didn't help the mood, but other Carvins who were driving with them didn't seem to bother all that much. Maybe they just got used to it, which wasn't making things better. Could a living and sentient being really 'get used' to death to the point that witnessing it would be treated like nothing more but routine?

'No. I need to focus.' Shepard tried to shrug it off. This planet was messing with his head. Their objective was to extract the team that was meant to recover the data and transport the soldiers from the field HQ to the base.

"We're approaching our destination!" Driver shouted from his seat. Immediately all Carvins stood up and grabbed their weapons, which at first startled Garrus and Javik (mostly Javik).The convoy slowly pulled over and soldiers started to dismount in an organized fashion.

Shepard jumped out of the vehicle behind them and was met with a sight that both impressed and shocked him. What was supposed to be a field HQ was a collection of makeshift fortifications and buildings that were reinforced with literally anything available. As they passed by the trenches, Shepard realized that none of the soldiers looked like the 'Hopeless' the Carvin vehicle commander spoke of earlier. Quite opposite, everyone was lively and determined, yet cold. When he looked one of the passing soldiers in the eyes, for a moment he thought that he was going to end up as someone's meal. Deeper into the HQ, Shepard saw more soldiers and civilians, who all shared that very same aura. Even children who were half as tall as him were giving a clear message that they could kill him.

"Well, a real happy bunch." Garrus said as he made way for two medics carrying a wounded soldier on makeshift stretches.

"What do you expect after weeks of being stuck here?" Vehicle commander asked. "You won't see any 'Hopeless' here. Anyone who became one most likely died. Some of these guys live on sheer will of survival. Figures that living here, with no supplies, limited food and water, changes you."

A group of Carvins, preparing a meal from a dead Cannibal over a makeshift bonfire only confirmed his words. Shepard could swear he saw Garrus covering his mouth with his hand.

Finally they passed most of the shocking, horrifying and disgusting things, and approached a tent set on a destroyed house. Inside there were a few Carvins walking around, checking stuff on datapads and portable consoles. Unsurprisingly the center of the room was taken by the holotable, displaying a map of the district. A high ranking officer was moving his hands rapidly across the flat screen, giving orders to units spread out across this part of the city.

"Major! High General Indrigan sent support and says hello!" The vehicle commander waved at the officer beside the holotable.

The 'Major' he was referring to raised his head and looked at the arrivals. When he noticed Shepard, his expression briefly changed to that of happiness, before returning to its cold state from before.

"Commander John Shepard." He said with a calm voice and Shepard was kind of startled by the fact that he used his full name. "Your presence here is a big surprise, but not an unwelcome one."

"You know who I am?" Shepard asked.

"Every man, woman and child knows who you are after you helped us repel the Collectors attacking this planet." Major answered with the same voice. "And now you're here again, when the Reapers came for a rematch."

"Wow, Shepard. Guess that's one more thing to make you a galactic superstar." Garrus joked and Major looked at him too.

"Some Carvins remember you as well, Garrus Vakarian." He said with a smirk, but turned back serious and shifted his gaze back to Shepard. "We have work to do."

Without introducing himself properly, he then invited them to the holotable with a hand gesture. It displayed the map of a district, with various unit symbols across the board. They were spread very thin, and rarely there were two units close to eachother.

"Given the fact that High General Indrigan sent you, I assume you know the situation." He said and not waiting for an answer, he clicked at one location on the map. The image shifted, showing a wreckage of a transport. "About half an hour ago we've sent a squad, codename Ember, to retrieve the data cache from this wreckage. However they've not been reporting for some time. I wouldn't be worried normally, since they have proven themselves enough times for me to know their skills, but after they stopped checking in, a strange anomaly occured."

The image was zoomed out and red dots, representing Reaper forces started moving towards the wreckage.

"Reapers started to suddenly converge on their probable position, which indicates that they must've either recovered the data cache, or the Reapers are trying their best to stop them from doing it." Major continued and turned towards Shepard. "We think that-"

But he was interrupted by one of the other Carvins in the room.

"Sir! I think I've got something from the Embers!" he shouted across the room.

"Show me!" Major ordered and suddenly an audio clip played.

"HQ 0*static* Virox! *static* some deep shit *static*-eed support!" There was a short pause before it continued. "We've *static* data, *static* superior force! *static* Need! Backup!"

When Shepard heard the name 'Virox', he froze. So Virox was still alive and fighting on this planet.

"Try to establish a stable connection!" Major said.

"I can't! The signal is being jammed!" Other Carvin replied. "Wait! I think I've got something!"

"What is it!?" This time Shepard asked.

"A... distress signal! On all frequencies!" Carvin said. "But that's against the protocol!"

"Bastards are really neck deep, but still alive." Major said in low voice, then turned towards Shepard. "Commander. If you came here to help my men, I would consider it a great help, as well as a personal favor if you saved my men."

"Consider it done." Shepard replied right after he finished. "Just link me to their distress beacon."

"Yes." Major nodded and pressed a few buttons. But right as Shepard was about to leave, he stopped him. "And Commander? If we survive this hell, I'll be the first to sign up to any expeditionary forces that will be sent to aid your summit."

"Noted." Shepard smiled lightly through his helmet, then gestured at Javik and Garrus. "Alright. Let's go."

They walked outside the 'HQ' and headed towards the probable source of the distress signal. However when they were walking through the base, the mood was definitely different. Everyone was lively. All defensive emplacements were obviously manned, but the rear was being cleared out of any valuable resources like weapons and ammo. Carvins must've figured out that they'll be retreating and were more than enthusiastic to do so. Shepard couldn't blame them. He didn't know if he'd be able to mentally endure such torment.

"Watch out for any Feral Carvins roaming around the ruins." One soldier warned them as they passed next to his foxhole. "There were reports of them attacking anything and everything in their general area."

"Thanks." They said and re-entered the dead part of the city.

 **Qreten, Capital city, Industrial district, Ruins near the wreckage**

(Play Rok Nardin - The Last Stand)

Things were looking bad. Like really shit. Virox have kept the distress beacon on all the time. It probably meant that every single Reaper husk within the vicinity of 10 kilometers knew their location, but that wasn't exactly changing anything. They were still stuck in the ruins of a house, desperately trying to survive. With no response, Virox started to feel the familiar emptiness in his mind, just like the one at the hospital. His brain couldn't lie to itself for much longer. There were no Carvin reinforcements coming. And it seemed like other Embers were going through the same conflict. They were getting more and more bold, shrugging off shots that would be incredibly painful. Seven's vengeful rage was coming back.

'So painful.' Something said in his mind. Every word was accented by a sting in his brain. 'Why do you resist?'

Virox felt a sudden boost of adrenaline. His will of survival came back, opposite to vanishing completely. That voice felt both like his own and someone else's.

'No one's coming. Embrace death. End the pain of your soldiers.' The voice continued, this time louder and deeper. The pain was also stronger. Virox felt his hands shaking. He looked at the Embers and saw them growling, and some even grabbing their heads. So they felt this too.

"No." He said out loud and fired a few shots at the advancing husks.

Now the whispers became an unintelligible mess, but it was getting louder and louder, while the pain was becoming unbearable. Virox started to see everything blurred and in slow motion. Roars of the husks were closer, but felt like miles away. He was now shooting blurred silhouettes of various husks, which he could recognize only by color. His shields were down, but despite this, every hit felt like a mild scratch.

But then all came back to normal, as the comms came back to life and snapped him out.

"Ember team! This *static* HQ-03! We're reading yo-*static*-sition! Help is co-*static*! I repeat: help is coming! Hold on!"

Virox felt like he could kiss the guy back in the HQ. (Wait! Carvin's can't kiss ffs!) He shrugged it off however and turned towards his team.

"We're getting reinforcements! They're busting our asses out of here any second!" He shouted.

"My LMG is dry, and I've got no grenades!" Seven shouted back. He already dropped the now silent weapon on the ground and came back to his trusty CAR-26 rifle.

"Rifle is broken! Overheated too much!" Four added. "I'm stuck with pistol!"

"There's no way we can-ARGH!" Five was cut off by a bullet to the head, which blasted away one of his jaws.

The hope that Virox felt just a few seconds ago was extinguished immediately. Rational mind would immediately notice that they wouldn't hold here, but he still desperately wanted to believe otherwise. He wouldn't loose another squad. Another family. He turned towards One, who somehow had most of his equipment working.

"Ready your weapons! We're gonna get out of here!"

"How!? We're surrounded!?" One asked and ducked after the wall just above his head recieved a salvo of bullets. But then he saw Virox looking at Zia and Nalik. "No, sir! You're going to kill her!"

"Help is on the way! We HAVE to get out of here!" Virox shouted and peaked out to shoot at the husks.

"Not like this! She's already weak! Another strain like that will fry her brain!" One protested.

"We are going, private! That's an order!" Virox yelled.

"FUCK THOSE ORDERS, SIR!" One snapped, and Virox just noticed that he was on a verge of breakdown.

Other soldiers were the same. Three had tears in his eyes, though his expression was cold. Seven had his eyes closed as he cowered behind the wall. They all accepted the fact that he desperately resisted: not all of them would come back alive. Virox looked at Nalik and Zia. They both were crying, but nodded their heads in agreement, despite the exhaustion.

"We will-" One started and then threw a grenade behind him. "-stay here and buy you some time! Zia should be able to protect two people!"

In that moment, the first tear, since The Great Grox War came from Virox's eye and fell onto the ground. The barrier fell. He couldn't resist much longer. But the saddness was soon replaced by cold determination. He looked One deep into the eyes.

"Give them hell." he said.

"Roger that." One saluted and grinned, while Virox turned back to the kids.

"You ready?" He asked Zia, who nodded. Then, after shooting a Cannibal that got too close, he pulled out an adrenaline shot. "You can use this before we go."

Zia took it and thrusted it into her neck, then pressed the button on top, which injected the substance.

"Go! We'll hold them off!" One shouted from behind them as the husks were merely a dozen meters away from them.

All three of them stood up and Zia put her arms up. When the barrier bubble appeared around them, she put some concious effort to make it smaller, so it didn't take so much space, then she turned towards Virox and said "Ready when you are."

"Let's go then. Follow me!" Virox ordered and started running towards the denser ruins of the city, through a weakened flank of the incoming husks. He placed a shot between the eyes of a Marauder, then activated his knuckle blades and slashed two incoming husks, killing them instantly. One Cannibal was about to throw a grenade, but before he managed to do that, Virox shot his arm and the grenade exploded, killing him and two others.

All this time, Embers were viciously fighting the spearhead of the assault. Virox looked back, to see them falling one by one.

Three was decapitationg the Husks and Cannibals with his knuckle blades. His shields were depleted, but he still fought like a demon, stabbing, slashing and crushing. But the amount of fire was too much and he soon fell due to his critical wounds.

Four lost his left arm, but still kept firing his pistol, taking out Marauders in the way. When the Husks got close he tried everything to keep them away from him, but soon he collapsed from the overwhelming damage.

Five was lying on the ground, his neck still bleeding, but he held to his rifle tightly, his back pressed to a rock. He kept firing despite the repeated shots into his stomach. Ultimately a Marauder slowly walked up to him and delivered a salvo into his head, killing him.

Seven was back in his rage. He fought the husks with his rifle in the shotgun mode. Every shot that hit him was doing nothing but agitate him more. He was unquestionably the most violent of them all. But even he had to fall as a Brute rammed him into a wall, then grabbed with his claw-hand and slammed him into the ground, ending his life.

By the time they reached relative safety, only One was still fighting. He was getting swarmed by the zombies, and his body was almost invisible. But then came the last words that would be burned in Virox's mind forever.

"FOR THE EMPIRE!"

Then an explosion obliterated everything within the vicinity of five meters away from where One was standing before.

Ember team was no more.

 **Qreten, Capital city, Industrial district, 2 kilometers from Virox's position**

"Hurry up! We need to reach them before they're overwhelmed!" Shepard ordered as he just took out a Marauder. There was clearly a concentration of enemies around the area where the signal from the distress beacon was coming from. However almost every bit of the city was now a firefight.. almost every corner there was a firefight, while the ruins were slowly becoming a wasteland. Carvins were tying up the Reaper ground forces in the city, effectively making it extremely difficult to assemble a force for a larger push, and forcing the Reapers to rely on themselves to reliably eliminate the resistance.

"Shepard! The signal source is moving!" Garrus shouted after they eliminated another group of husks.

"To where!?" Shepard asked.

"Closer to us, but more to the west! We can try to intercept them and escort them back to the base!" He replied.

"Then let's move!"

All three of them went deeper into the ruins, trying to avoid getting into unnecessary fights. Major warned them over the comms before to not get involved, since it would get the attention on the individual units and slow them down in ther objective to extract the Ember team. It felt painful for Shepard to leave the fighting Carvins be, but they didn't complain when they saw them.

But as they moved through the ruins, it got quieter. Too quiet for a city that was dying in agony, and screaming while it did so. Streets were empty, and even Reaper husks seemed to have disappeared. There was nothing but corpses and the occasional smoke from one of the buildings.

"The silence is unnatural, Commander. We should be wary." Javik said with a low voice.

"Agreed." Shepard nodded with his N7 Eagle pistol raised. "It's too-"

But before he could finish, a strange, almost animal-like noise was heard. Given the limited time Shepard spent with Carvins, mostly Virox, that sound seemed like a Carvin equivalent of a groan or a moan. He raised his fist to stop his squadmates. Suddenly a lone Carvin walked onto the street out of the ruins. He seemed exhausted, collapsing to the ground every few seconds, and making that strange noise. It fit the descryption of the 'Feral Carvins' that one of the soldiers at the base spoke of.

"Stay quiet. We'll take it together. On my signal." Shepard whispered as he tried to quietly get closer to the Feral. Garrus took position behind a crashed skycar, while Javik joined Shepard, as his weapon had lower effective range. Shepard raised his hand with three fingers. He was about to start counting down, but the Feral Carvin suddenly got agitated by something.

It was barely a second, as something that looked like a line appeared out of nowhere, hit the Feral in the chest and pulled to the left. Feral collapsed on the ground and another Carvin jumped onto the street and pounced on the stunned husk. He started to punch it rapidly into the throat, and after roughly half a dozen hits, he pulled out a knife, slit the husk's throat, and pulled the head up, effectively tearing it off.

Shepard stayed behind cover, examining the new Carvin. After a few seconds he realized that the armor had paint on it, surely in bad state, but the colors were still visible. Suddenly two smaller Carvins emerged as well and walked towards the big one.

"Uh... that's our target." Garrus said, with a mix of surprise, admiration and disgust. "They got here pretty fast."

The Carvins kept calm and it was enough for Shepard to figure out that they were peaceful. He slowly left his cover. Two smaller Carvins drew their weapons and pointed at him, but the taller one raised his hand and stopped them, without looking at him.

"Virox?" Commander asked and this time the Carvin turned around and looked at him.

"You're late." He said, with an emotionless voice and started to walk towards them, but his eyes were empty, looking at nothing in particular.

"Good to see that you're still breathing and fighting." Garrus said and extended a hand for a handshake, but Virox just bumped into him, as if he didn't see him, and continued to walk.

"Virox? Are you alright?" Shepard looked at him go, but then his hand was pulled by one of the smaller Carvins. He turned around to see them shaking their heads to left and right. The message was clear and he backed off. "Alright then."

"We should make haste, Commander. The Reaper forces will return soon." Javik pointed out.

"Then let's move." Shepard replied and gestured two Carvin kids to follow him.

All three of them were incredibly silent during the way back. They didn't even bother to check the corners for any firefight. It was worrisome seeing them in such a state, but given what this place could do to an individual, this shouldn't surprise them.

"So... you're the Ember team?" Garrus asked, trying to socialize. "I'm impressed that you two could hold on for so long, just with Virox."

The bigger of the two kids growled and she got surrounded by a purple aura of biotics. Garrus immediately realized his mistake and prayed to the spirits to spare him, but then the smaller kid put his hand on her shoulder.

"Enough, sis. Nothing we do will bring them back." He said, though his voice was shaking.

It was at this moment that it hit them. Virox being so emotionless, the older kid (who turned out to be a girl) being angry. Now it all made sense.

"Your team..." Shepard started, still unsure if he should pursue the topic. "They're..."

"Gone." the younger kid finished and nodded. "We were pinned down and couldn't get away. Zia was exhausted from protecting us with her barrier before. Uncle wanted..." he stopped for a moment as the words were stuck in his throat. "...wanted to save everyone, but there was no way. Our team volunteered to stay there and delay the Reapers while we escaped."

At that moment Virox stopped for a moment. He looked up to the sky and clenched his fist. And then he let out a roar of pain. It was a mix of a screech and a growl. After that he collapsed onto his knees, overwhelmed by grief. It was for the first time that they saw him in such a state. Broken and almost pitiable. But then his head twitched and he started to get up and turned towards Shepard. His expression was still cold, but now it was familiar. Resembling the one he had while his personality swapped to his second one.

"Let's get out of here, Shepard." he simply said, looked at Garrus. "Sorry, man. It's been... rough. I didn't mean that..."

"No problem." Turian replied and extended a hand for a second time and Virox shook it strongly. "Good to have you back."

"Will we ever get out of here?" Javik asked with a clearly annoyed expression.

"Who the hell are you?" Virox glared at him confused, then his head twitched again. "Actually, scratch that. I don't care. Let's go."

Then the six of them started to head towards the field HQ as the Reaper ships were obliterating soldiers in the city center.

 **TIME SKIP**

The journey didn't take them long, but when they arrived, they were welcomed by the abandoned defenses and Carvins moving all across the base, collecting any and all remaining supplies. The base itself was mostly nonexistent, and if Shepard didn't know that it was here before, he could swear that these were just ordinary ruins.

They moved through the crowd of soldiers and into the remainings of the command tent. Major was still there, organizing the evacuation. Upon seeing them his face changed expression to relief, then confusion, shock, and saddness, before returning to the previous one.

"So the rest didn't make it?" He asked with a tone as if nothing happened.

"No. They died so that we could deliver this to you." Virox replied, then took something that looked like a data disc from one of the kids and gave it to the Major. "Hopefully it was worth it."

"Agreed. You guys made up a name for yourself over the past weeks." Major nodded then turned towards the rest. "The evacuation is almost complete. You can head to the convoy. We'll be leaving in a minute."

"OK. Zia, Nalik. Make a quick run over the camp for the last time and see if you can find anything else." Virox said to the kids who quickly saluted and left.

"Am I wrong or did the smaller one call you 'uncle' on the way here?" Shepard asked Virox as they headed towards the convoy.

"I have no blood connection to them, but their father was a friend of mine since I... returned to the Empire." Virox replied.

"Was?" Commander wasn't sure if he should pursue the topic.

"I don't know what happened to him." Virox sighed, indicating that it was a painful memory. "On the first day their house became a stronghold for civies. They went under attack. I got there with my team to assist them, but we only managed to rescue Zia and Nalik. Their mother told me to get them to safety. She said she would try to get their father out of the city, but a Reaper Destroyer hit the house. They might've survived, but at this point I just stop hoping and start preparing for the worst."

They reached the convoy, where Carvins were literally hanging off anything and everything available. Supplies were dangling off the armor as well, but when they approached the vehicle that brought them here, the commander jumped off and opened the hatch inviting them.

"Here you go. Managed to save you some spots before these guys swarmed the inside." he chuckled.

"Thanks." Shepard said as they got in. "We're still waiting for two kids. They'll be back in a moment."

"Sure thing." Vehicle commander shrugged it off, but then stopped and turned his head towards them. "Wait. Two kids..." he then looked at Virox. "And that guy with painted armor... you guys the Ember team?"

"We used to be." Virox replied emotionlessly. "Now I and the kiddos are what's left of it."

"Oh..." The commander dropped his sight. "But I remember you. We picked you up in the Day 1. Then we went with you to extract the civies from the hospital. And now we meet again."

"It was you?" Virox rose his head and looked at the commander in surprise. Then his head twitched. "Damn, man. A small planet."

He completely dropped the moody attitude and shook the other Carvin's hand firmly, then playfully punched him in the shoulder. They started laughing like if all the death and destruction around them was just a dream. However the reunion was interrupted when Zia and Nalik returned.

"We're back! And brought gifts! Well... one gift." They tried to sound enthusiastic, but unfortunately they didn't have the broken sanity to help them deal with it.

The younger one, who Shepard assumed to be Nalik was holding a big rifle... or rather something like a light machine gun from the 21st century. Then he passed it to Virox with a bag of what was probably ammo.

"Oh shit! It's one of those! I really wanted to shoot one, but only Six had it and he didn't want to share." Virox said happily. At times Shepard wondered if having a mind broken like he did wasn't a good thing in times like these.

However mentioning 'Six', probably one of their now deceased squadmates didn't help the mood. Both kids dropped their heads. Shepard didn't need to know the Carvin body language to see that their minds were taking the toll of this loss. He was amazed that they managed to supress it so well.

"Alright boys! We're leaving!" The vehicle commander shouted and the convoy started to drive out of the city.

"I'm happy that we're leaving this place." Garrus said from his seat as he observed the devastated buildings.

"Wow, you had enough after, what, two or three hours?" Virox asked with a smile that looked really out of place. "You suck, Garrus."

"Thanks, but I don't have insanity to protect my mind." Turian replied.

"Oh, that would be a good excuse if you'd actually spent a few days here." Virox chuckled and playfully punched Zia in the shoulder. "These two would best you any day. I'm proud of them."

That little compliment did make things a bit better. Sad expressions vanished and Zia even grinned at Garrus. It was clear that they valued Virox's respect greately, and the remaining time they spent telling stories, joking around and just acting like if nothing happened. Shepard could swear that on the mention of food, Javik was on a verge of a seizure.

But one thing was still unclear to Shepard.

How?

How could they be so... calm? So distanced to what was going on? How could they just seemingly forget about it, yet at the same time spend weeks fighting a battle that would mentally break most individuals? If he was to find comparison, this was the Stalingrad or Leningrad of the Reaper War so far, but without the gun of a dictator pointed at their backs... or was it? He didn't know, but given the Carvins' questionable approach to morals he could assume many things.

 **TIME SKIP**

After roughly ten minutes, they finally saw the fortifications of the main complex. Even from afar it was clear that there were far more Carvins around there. Defenses were fully manned, with a few additional makeshift defensive emplacements added over the last hours. Carvins were definitely preparing for an assault on this position.

The convoy reached the main complex shortly after and stopped in the giant hangar bay with all the equipment still stored inside. Once everyone dismounted they were greeted by medics and other support staff that was checking their bodies and implants.

Shepard, along with Garrus, Javik, Virox and the kids were currently walking through the tight hallways towards the command center of the facility. The alarms were ringing across the entire base, which wasn't filling them with optimism.

Finally they reached an armored door with two guards in front of it. As soon as they saw them approaching, they stepped aside and one of them clicked something on his wrist. The door hissed and opened, revealing the brighter interior that looked even more crowded than before.

"General?" Shepard said as he approached the Carvin leader at the holomap.

"Good to see you back, Commander." Indrigan raised his head and then looked at Virox. "And there he goes. Seviros' idol."

"Yeah, fuck you too old man." Virox snapped back with a chuckle.

For a few seconds everyone in the room looked at him in shock, before Indrigan waved his hand and said "Carry on.", which they did, but still kept glaring at Virox.

"We're almost done with our preparations for the evac." Indrigan continued. "However the Reapers seemed to have figured out that something is off. They'll send forces to stop us."

"We'll hold them off." Shepard reassured him, but the Carvin shook his head.

"It won't fall to you to do that, Commander." He replied.

"To whom then?" Shepard asked.

"To us." A new voice said and the honorable flickered, before showing two silhouettes. "Hello, Commander."

"High General Seviros. High General Tivennia." Shepard bowed his head a little bit.

"Good to see that you're ready." Indrigan said. "We'll be waiting for your signal."

"Our forces are as ready as they can be. We'll do it quickly before the Reapers realize what happened." Tivennia reassured.

"What about our little surprise?" Indrigan asked, but his voice changed tone drastically which concerned Shepard.

"Don't worry." Seviros replied, his tone also changing. "The Planetbuster is secure and ready."

 **A/N: Yes... you've heard it right. The Planetbuster is real.**


	9. Price to be paid

**A/N: You remember me saying that I'll improve? Yeah... you can ignore that for this chapter. It took me literally a month and three days to update. Shame on me. Hopefully I'll get better soon, but**

 **Reviews:**

 **Shadowhorror: That was the plan all along :D And thanks for bearing with my terrible update rate.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Qreten, Main planetary HQ, Command center**

In that very moment, all Carvins stopped doing whatever they were doing, no matter how important it was. Their faces revealed shock.

Shepard was among them too. At first he thought his translator misinterpreted Seviros' words. The reaction of the Carvins however clearly dispelled this illusion.

"A... Planetbuster?" Garrus asked.

No response came. However the parts of the bigger picture were slowly moving to their place in Shepard's head, but with each part in place, the truth was becoming increasingly disconcerting.

"Return to your tasks." Indrigan said with a calm yet cold voice. It took the Carvins a second to snap out of the shock before they obeyed, still with shocked expressions. Indrigan then turned his gaze back to Shepard and his team. "Yes. You've heard it right. But now we have more important matters to deal with."

"Hold up!" Shepard finally recovered and now wanted answers. "Are you telling me that you are going to blow up an entire planet with people still on it?"

"Yes." All three High Generals replied simultaneously.

"You're willing to just throw their lives away?" He asked angrily.

"I think you don't quite realize in what war you found yourself in, Commander." Indrigan replied with a low voice. "This planet wouldn't hold forever, and you know it. Those who will remain here, would die anyway, but if we leave them to the Reapers, they shall be turned against us. We will leave them nothing and the energy from the exploding planet will destroy everything in the immediate vicinity. Not even Reapers will resist it."

"So you lied to me all this time?" Shepard snapped.

"No. We just did not tell you the full truth. All we DID tell you was true. You cannot call something that has not been said a lie." This time Seviros spoke.

"Then how are we supposed to create alliance without the mutual trust required to do so!?" This time Shepard shouted.

"This discussion is irrelevant." Indrigan said emotionlessly and turned back towards Seviros and Tivennia. "We can proceed to Phase 2. You can go. We'll be waiting for you. Good hunting."

"You too." They both replied in unison and their images slowly faded.

Shepard was still stunned. Well... stunned was an understatement. The stance of Indrigan, as well as almost blind obedience of the other Carvins... It was unnatural. How could they just obey the general who planned to blow up an entire planet with everyone in it just to slow down the Reaper advance? They kept shocking him with all these acts that no sentient organic being would ever want to do willingly.

"You support this?" He turned towards Virox, only to see him frozen, apart from his head that was twitching. His eyes were rapidly looking left and right.

"So many... but for greater good. Still... worth it? ...another way... stop them... necessary." Shepard's translator could barely catch anything from Virox's quiet discussion with himself.

"Uh... Virox?" Garrus asked with worry. He waved his hand in front of Virox's eyes, with little effect. Only after a few seconds the Carvin closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them and looked at Shepard.

"It's the best option... I don't like it either, but it's for the greater good." He said.

Shepard looked at the kids. They were both paralyzed. It took a while before Nalik's eyes filled with tears, but he didn't sob. He shut his eyes tight and Zia put her hand on his shoulder. They accepted it too.

Before Shepard could say anything, a sound of the alarm echoed across the room. Red lights began to glow and suddenly everyone started to run around, fulfilling their duties with twice the speed.

"Give me a sitrep!" Indrigan shouted to one of the Carvins at the console.

"We're picking up multiple small objects entering the atmosphere, as well as masses of signals moving towards our position on the ground!" He replied.

"Activate the AA turrets! Prioritize the drop pods with stronger signatures! We don't want any Brutes falling down on our heads!" Indrigan ordered and turned towards Shepard. "Commander. I know you're angry at us for not telling you the entire truth, but right now the most important thing is to hold on until Seviros and Tivennia get here."

"Alright. Let's move, team." Shepard replied, still glaring at Indrigan, who didn't seem to care. They left the room and moved through the tight corridors of the base, guided only by other Carvins who were all moving in the same direction.

When they finally reached the familiar hangar bay, they saw that it was not the same as it was before. It might've seemed impossible, but the entire hangar entrance was now filled with makeshift barricades and these weird machine gun nests. For the first time though, the tanks have been rolled out and positioned all over the fortifications, including those outside. Carvin soldiers were working tirelessly, passing grenades, weapons, raising the barricades, or digging trenches outside around the base.

As Shepard walked beside them, not one of them even bothered to look at him. They were all completely focused on their jobs. Those who didn't work, were either patrolling the trenches, looking towards the city from where the Reaper husks would arrive, or sleeping while trying to cover as little space as possible. The entire base looked like an anthill.

"This... this reminds me of Menae." Garrus said as he observed the Carvins.

"The what?" Virox asked with a confused expression.

"The moon around Palaven. We were using it as our foothold in an attempt to retake our homeworld." Garrus explained. "Though there's less desperation here and more determination."

"Haven't been there, so I can't-" Virox was about to reply to that, but he was interrupted by the alarm horns on the AA turrets. They suddenly turned sharply and opened fire at something in the sky.

"GET READY!" Someone screamed as the sound of guns pierced the air. If the base looked like the anthill before, then someone has stuck a stick inside it. All Carvins who were doing anything, stopped in that exact moment and started to take cover anywhere they could. Most of them stayed outside, though some ran back inside.

"Come here!" Virox pulled Shepard and Garrus by their arms and jumped into the nearest trench with them. Javik who was not caught rolled his two pairs of eyes and joined in as well, with the kiddos following quickly.

"Virox we could do this ourselves. Why did you-" Shepard didn't get to finish, because Virox grabbed him by the head and made him look up. "Oh..."

"Yeah. Better if we have some cover." Virox replied.

What he showed Shepard was a giant mass of Reaper drop pods heading towards the surface. Some of them were exploding from the AA turret fire, but the prioritization of fire clearly had its effect, as many of the drop pods just breezed through the AA defenses. And they were getting really close.

Other soldiers were observing the sky as well. Few of them were shaking from anticipation. Others were more calm, probably experienced fighters. But each one of them knew what would come, and they were all ready for it.

Shepard focused on the closest drop pod, just about to drop to the ground. Time seemed to have slowed down as it fell. But the moment it touched the ground, an explosion was heard and where once was a drop pod there were scorching corpses of Cannibals and Husks.

"Bring it on!" Zia started to glow purple and tightened her grip on her shotgun.

Her wish was granted as more drop pods came crushing down onto the defenders, either between the trenches themselves, or in front of them.

"Go! We'll stay here and try to cover your ass!" Virox shouted to Shepard and set up his LMG on a bipod.

"On it!" Shepard shouted back and set his eyes on a Ravager that somehow made it to the surface. He focused and felt the familiar tingling of the mass effect fields, then launched himself towards the giant insect at an incredible speed. The result was to be expected.

Upon contact, the Ravager stumbled back a little bit, but before it had time to react, it received two shots. One in the frontal egg sack and the other in the head. It took only a while for the little Swarmers to crawl out, but he quickly dispatched them with his Nova. With a corner of his eye he saw another purple explosion and turned around, just to see Zia shooting a Marauder point blank in the head while having a menacing grin on her face (Shepard spent enough time with Virox to recognize this particular expression pretty easily).

However it was clear that the AA turrets were being overwhelmed by the amount of drop pods they had to shoot. Every now and then a Brute appeared on the battlefield, just to be blown into bits by a tank or grenades. It was clear though that the situation was getting worse every second.

"Contact! Front!" Someone yelled and Shepard immediately turned around to see the hordes of Husks heading towards the base from the city. He was about to prepare for a charge towards them when he suddenly felt a hit to the back. Not anything strong, but it surprised him. He turned around to see a Cannibal ready to leap towards him. But before it could do that, a salvo of something blue hit it multiple times, burning away both flesh and metal.

"No need to thank me!" Virox shouted from his trench.

Suddenly, a shockwave of an explosion hit Shepard from behind. He turned around and saw one of the AA turrets smoking, with its metal hull and weapons beyond repair. With one inoperable, other would be overwhelmed soon as well, and the effects were evident as the are around the destroyed turret suddenly becoming a perfect drop zone. The husks were tightly concentrated in one area though, which made the job easier for tanks, grenades and LMGs.

Shepard eyed one of the drop pods that was about to hit the ground behind one of the trenches. When it hit the ground, he charged right above the heads of the surprised Carvins and hit something heavy. He raised his head only to see that it was a Brute. This didn't startle him however as he dashed out of the way of the giant metal claw, and fired three shots into the Brute's gut. The beast roared in pain and swung blindly at him, but Shepard used his biotics to jump above it, then concentrated energy in his left hand. As he fell down, he slammed his hand on the Brute's head so hard, it hit the ground. Before it could recover however, Shepard delivered the final blow in the neck with his omni-tool.

(A/N: Yes, I know that Shepard is a Vanguard, but Omni-tools are standard issue for most of the Alliance. And he's seen with it at the end of the Citadel DLC so that too.)

"We're getting overwhelmed! Retreat to the second line!" One of the Carvins shouted from the first line of defense.

"Covering fire!" Virox yelled and turned his LMG to the incoming hordes of husks in order to suppress their advance. Others quickly got the idea and unleashed an unstoppable volley of lasers.

Carvins from the first line used the opportunity to start their retreat. The most vulnerable parts moved first in an organized fashion, reminiscent to that of the Turians. Once they reached the second line, other less threatened groups began their retreat. After a few repetitions, all soldiers were defending the base from the second line. But before they could celebrate this small victory, their enthusiasm was extinguished. By the roar of dozens of engines.

"Enemy craft incoming!" Virox screamed and hid in his trench, as the Oculi descended rapidly towards the ground. Some of them were shot down by turrets, but they destroyed the remaining defensive emplacements shortly after.

With the Reaper domination in the air, the husks started to slowly but steadily encircle and squeeze on the defenders. A single Oculi shot could take out up to 5 soldiers if lucky. Tanks were the only moderate way to eliminate them but they weren't designed with that task in mind.

Virox loaded the third mag to his LMG, then turned around to other soldiers in the trench.

"Retreat to the next line! I'll cover you!" He ordered. They nodded and waited for him to start firing. He adjusted his sight and unleashed the volley of molten metal at the incoming Reaper forces. Human husks were dying so easily as if he was cutting grass. Cannibals couldn't withstand much longer either. Even Marauders were falling quickly after receiving few good hits.

But then the weapon stopped firing. Virox squeezed the trigger a few more times, but nothing happened. Only after a moment he noticed that the barrel was overheated so much, that it partially melted. Thankfully there was a spare one in that ammo bag that Zia and Nalik gave him, but in this situation it was difficult to change it.

"Fuck it, I'll do it!" He growled to himself and hid in the trench, then reached into his ammo bag. The barrel was bigger than the ammo boxes for the weapon and it was easily recognizable. Virox pulled it out and pressed a button to detach the molten barrel from his LMG, all in around 5 seconds. Just when he was about to put in a new one, something fell on his back. Without hesitation he grabbed it and slammed into the ground, just to see a grey thin body of a husk. He quickly slammed his fist on his head, shattering it on impact.

Before Virox could return to his rifle, a purple explosion erupted next to him, startling him. Something grabbed his hand and suddenly he felt like his insides were being pulled out of his ass by force. It stopped after a second and Virox tumbled on the ground, still dazed.

"Oh... what the fuck?" He tried to stand up.

"Get your shit together, uncle! Here they come!" A voice highly reminiscent of Zia's yelled at him. Virox quickly got up to see the girl switching to her pistol as her shotgun was useless in a situation where she couldn't charge.

With the front moving closer and closer to the main base, Carvin defense became more and more ferocious. Soldiers would take multiple hits, but kept alive by their sheer determination, they would still fight. Bodies were falling down on both sides, though Reapers were suffering more casualties. The ground was soaked with blood and fluids from husk corpses.

"Take cover! They're making another run!" Nalik shouted while pointing at the sky.

Indeed, the Oculi were in a tight wedge formation, diving straight towards the Carvin fortifications. Some soldiers started to shoot at them with seemingly no effect. One of the tanks actually managed to take out the leading Oculus, though this did little to stop the drones. They were almost in range.

But then one of them exploded. Then another. And after a moment they were all falling down from the sky, leaving black smoke behind them.

From the sky emerged the Carvin fighters and bombers. There were dozens of them and they started to lay waste to the charging husks.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements!" Carvins cheered, and their cheers only got stronger when multiple CAATs appeared and headed towards the base. They just kept coming until the first few gunships landed and two soldiers per each ship would exit and order who was to get in.

Shepard watched it with relief, as the exhausted soldiers were crawling into the ships, some with tears in their eyes. However he was interrupted by a beeping sound in his helmet.

"Commander. Carvin reinforcements arrived and they're hitting the Reapers hard. Their transport ships are sending gunships to commence evacuation." Joker reported.

"Yeah, we've noticed." Shepard replied, then an idea appeared in his head. "Tell Cortez to ready the shuttle and assist with evacuation. And warn Doctor Chakwas of the possible patients she might get. And you stay away from the battle."

"Aye aye, Commander. Normandy out." Joker said and ended the transmission.

With a moment to recover, Carvins began to reorganize as their friends were being taken off planet by the gunships. Passing ammo to eachother, picking up weapons from their dead comrades, or even reinforcing their fortifications with husk corpses which were in abundance at the moment. Some fighters left to escort the gunships, while a fraction of the force, including bombers stayed, circling around the base.

Shepard noticed Nalik with his omni-tool trying to fix one of the damaged portable laser turrets. It was so incredible, yet sad to see a young spirit so intelligent used on the front lines in a war, where its potential could be wasted so easily.

He snapped out of it. There was still a battle to be won here. And it would be tough.

 **Orbit of Qreten, Relentless, Bridge.**

"Sir! Our right flank is taking fire! Reaper Destroyers are breaking through!" One of the bridge officers reported from his console.

"Diverting 5 bomber squadrons and three corvettes to that area." Seviros said calmly and moved the symbols on the holotable to the desired area.

The entire operation was really shaky at the moment. Carvins placed their transport ships far away from the planet, for them to be able to quickly escape in case of a Reaper breakthrough, which would discourage the Reapers themselves from trying to target them. However such distance made the evacuation longer, and more costly with each minute. And although they wanted to speed up the process, they couldn't send too many transport gunships at once, since it would paint a target on the main base. The Reapers had to stay in the main city, with as little of them flying away to the orbit to fight the two combined fleets.

Seviros, Tivennia and Indrigan had previously all came to a conclusion that even in the base there was no way they would save everyone. Additional numbers of "potential candidates for extraction" were simply an additional defense with a sole purpose of buying time for the extraction forces. Indrigan purposefully placed the most valuable candidates on the rear to give them the biggest level of protection. Others were mostly expendable.

Of course, Shepard's presence on the planet was having an impact on the operation in multiple ways. One, he was a paragon to an extreme. A trait commonly encountered in inexperienced and naive humans from what Carvins have seen so far, but Shepard was anything but. He was experienced and quite levelheaded, which didn't change the fact that his desire to save everyone was... problematic. Two, he was an inspiring figure. Even during that little time that Carvins have spent among the races of the Milky Way, he already made a name for himself in the minds of their people. Having him down there was definitely a morale boost that was influencing the outcome of battles. Three however, was not so positive. Reapers have long considered Shepard a threat. Not a very big one, but still a threat. His presence on the planet meant that Reapers were more cautious and dangerous. It was a two-edged sword.

"Contact, Tivennia and Indrigan." Seviros ordered. "We need to analyze the situation."

It was a moment of silence, but after a few seconds Tivennia's hologram appeared, then Indrigan's, though the latter was flickering every now and then.

"Seviros. I thought we'll be getting more transports than this. What's the problem?" Indrigan asked with a demanding tone.

"The Reaper concentration, as well as their reaction to our offensive makes it incredibly risky to send more at the time." Seviros replied, then turned towards Tivennia. "How long can your forces hold on until we shall start taking serious losses in the grand scheme?"

"Not more than half an hour. We need to increase our efforts if we want this operation to be worth it in the slightest." Tivennia said. "We could just take Indrigan and leave if things went south."

"Shepard wouldn't like it, but it might be necessary if the Reapers start to move away from the planet. We need them to stay here." Indrigan said and his image flickered heavily. "Damn it! The fighters came back! They're making another push! You have to pick up the pace, or there will be no one left to evacuate!"

Seviros and Tivennia looked at eachother painfully. They knew that the decision they were about to make would probably impact the entire outcome of the war. If they continued with this rate, it would end up like Indrigan said. However, if they increased their efforts, it would possibly lure multiple Reapers off world, away from the surface where they wanted them to be. And it would paint a bigger target on the defenders as well. Then again... the media could further destabilize the situation in the Empire,which was the last thing they wanted. And they would probably disapprove leaving these soldiers to die.

"I want all idle transport ships to join the extraction operation ASAP." Seviros turned around to his officers. "And assign 8 squadrons of fighters to escort them all the time."

"Yes sir!" They all nodded in unison.

Tivennia vanished from screen for a moment, only to reappear a few seconds after. It was clear that she followed the example. Her expression was stone-cold, but Seviros didn't need to ask to know that she was deeply conflicted about this decision. He was as well.

"Let's just hope it's worth it." She simply said before disconnecting, and Indrigan did the same, leaving Seviros alone.

'Hope...' He thought and sighed. 'May the Creator help us all.'

 **Qreten surface, Main planetary HQ, Hangar bay.**

The second attack was over twice as strong as the first one. With complete air dominance Reapers have managed to push Carvins back into the base in a matter of minutes. The complex itself looked almost completely ruined. Of course the underground parts were left intact (although many entrances to the surface were blocked), but the exposed part looked like it was about to collapse any moment.

Carvin main defensive force was concentrated in what used to be a hangar bay. Other parts of the base, with all the narrow and easily defensible corridors did not require so much soldiers and equipment to hold. But the hangar area, previously a giant open space, was now filled with debris, parts of the ceiling, fighter and tank wrecks, and hastily prepared covers.

From an outside point of view, it would seem that the Carvins were doomed. This was not the case however. A wild animal is most dangerous when backed into a corner, and Carvins were a reflection of that principle. Their fighting style became more ferocious and dirty, often with disregard to their own health. Wounded soldiers would play dead and wait for the husks to pass, only to engage them from a flank or behind. Some would even lie down and wait for a group of enemies to come closer, only to detonate themselves and everything in the surrounding area with grenades. The irregular terrain also allowed soldiers to sneak from cover to cover, as the line of fire of the Reaper forces was extremely limited in this environment. For every 1 dead soldier, Carvins would take two dozen husks.

But the one to truly shine were Shepard and Zia. In this absolute chaos, and where lines of sight were limited, they thrived on surprise, charging at the groups of husks, then annihilating them with their close-ranged weaponry or area biotic attacks like Nova.

However Virox and Nalik were busy as well. They positioned themselves on a pile of rubble, which not only provided cover, but also height advantage. Virox put his LMG on a bipod and kept spraying the area with molten metal, while Nalik would use his omni-tool built-in functions to keep the weapon relatively cool. He even managed to partially fix some of Virox's damaged shield generators, which allowed for more effective protection.

"Nalik! I'm running low on ammo in that thing!" Virox shouted through the sounds of firefight. "Try to find some more ammo! I'll try to hold on here!"

The boy nodded and jumped down from the pile of rubble that was their firing position, while Virox kept scanning the area for hostiles. He had to conserve his ammo, so he tried to prioritize more dangerous opponents. Suddenly an explosion shook the entire complex. Then again and again.

"Crap. These fighters don't let up." He muttered to himself. At least the roof of the base was partially intact. If it wasn't, the Oculi would slaughter them all.

Virox checked his weapon. 63 shots left. Some would say that it's a lot, but with all the incoming enemies, this was a pinch of what they needed to effectively defend. Virox noticed something moving through the battlefield fast. Or several things. He used his visor to zoom in, only to see that these were in fact Feral Carvins from the city. They were heading towards the main defensive position, where the last three tanks were partially burrowed in debris to make them act like turrets and assist with defense. If that point overwhelmed, the Reapers would effectively split the base in half, and encircle them both.

"Oh no you don't!" Virox growled and aimed the gun at the closest Feral. It didn't see him, and Virox felt a warm feeling of satisfaction. When he was perfectly sure he would hit the target, he pulled the trigger for one second. The salvo erased the Feral's shields from existence and melted a considerable part of its body. The husk screeched in pain and fell to the ground. Virox used this opportunity to fire another salvo, this time longer. It was enough, as the body soon stopped twitching and lied down motionless.

Before Virox could celebrate his victory however, a loud roar was heard across the hangar. He looked towards the source and saw multiple Brutes approaching the main frontline.

"Damn it. Where's Nalik?" He said as his ammo count was showing 46 shots. He knew that this would probably not be enough to stop all the Brutes, but he had to try.

As the massive bulky beasts walked into his effective range, Virox pulled the trigger on the gun, but this time didn't let go off the trigger. The first Brute was visibly surprised, and collapsed shortly after. Only then Virox stopped firing and turned towards the next one. This one however noticed him, as did another one next to him. Virox gulped nervously, but aimed the weapon and started shooting. The weapon was shooting its remaining shots. He could hear it.

The first Brute fell after receiving over 30 shots. His friend however was still charging. Virox tried to aim at the head to deal more damage, but then the recoil stopped. The weapon went silent. Virox saw the red "0" on the ammo clip and then the Brute just about 10 meters from him. He desperately dropped the weapon and reached for his Void shotgun, but before he could even touch it, the massive claw of the Brute launched him into the air and he fell down on the metal ground.

"Crap!" He grumbled and spit a bit of blood, but then turned around as the menacing roar was getting closer and closer. The Brute was right above him and it was about to mash him into a bloody pulp with its claw. But before it could happen, the Brute stumbled forward as an explosion hit it from behind, almost crushing him while doing so. Virox used this window of opportunity to pull out his Void shotgun and fired three shots, killing the beast.

"You okay, uncle?" Nalik ran towards him, holding a bag of clips in his hand. "I found only three mags and one isn't even full."

"That'll do anyway. We need to get back to our position." Virox patted him on the shoulder and they both ran up the hill that he was previously knocked off they ran, the complex was shook again, and this time, more parts of the ceiling started to fall off. The hole became really, big which meant that their protection from Oculi was slowly deteriorating.

Then they heard the glorious sound of engines. Sound characteristic of Carvin engines only. And then they saw it.

Multiple gunships started to fly through the hole in the ceiling with guns blazing. Their firepower was enough to keep the Reaper forces at bay for some time. Squads which were chosen to evacuate in this wave started to quickly concentrate around the landing zones, literally jumping in, just to get off the planet. Virox also noticed a characteristic blue Kodiak shuttle landing beside its Carvin counterparts. As it opened its doors he saw James and some kind of female looking robot encouraging the Carvins to come aboard. It was very tight, but somehow the gunships that landed before were easily flying off and their place was taken by the empty ones.

Suddenly Virox heard beeping in his ear, so he pressed the button to begin the transmission.

"Virox, this is Indrigan." His comms came to life. "After this wave, there will only be one last extraction. Try not to die and make sure you get on board one of the gunships once that happens. I'm not explaining anything to Seviros if you end up dead."

CRACK*

"Roger that." Virox said emotionlessly.

CRACK*

"Also, fuck you." He added in a more cocky tone. He didn't like being called Seviros's pet, just because he used to be one of his most trusted soldiers during the Grox War, and that he knew him personally.

"Copy." Indrigan replied and disconnected, while Virox turned towards Nalik.

"We're getting outta here the next time gunships arrive!" He said.

"Good! I'm sick of this place!" Nalik replied, while panting heavily. It was clear that his young body was not used to such immense strains.

Virox meanwhile pressed a few buttons on his wrist computer and waited for the signal.

"Shepard, do you hear me!?" He practically shouted into the microphone. There were some sounds of firefight and explosion, before it all stopped and all that was heard was heavy breathing.

"Loud and clear!" Shepard replied, still panting.

"The next evac wave is the last wave, so be ready to retreat!" Virox shouted, then saw a giant biotic explosion from afar. "And tell Zia to stop showing off and overextending, because I'm not busting her ass out of there!"

"Ok!" He said and disconnected and Virox returned to his previous position.

[PLAY: HEARTS OF IRON - SABATON]

It was going pretty well for the defenders for some time, but the moment the gunships left and the base was deprived of its air superiority and support, it started to go really badly. With the even more decreased amount of soldiers still fighting, there was simply not enough people holding guns to shoot at the endless horde of husks. Where have the Reapers taken them from anyway, if there's still fighting going on in the main city? Virox had no idea. The only thing he knew was that their potential retreat area was getting smaller and smaller by the minute. Even some of the soldiers from the tight corridors of the base have retreated to the hangar, now guarding the last doors and corridors from the husks.

But even then, Carvins still fought. The blind fury, the steel determination, and hope of getting out were all keeping them alive, seemingly in spite of nature. They fought for every corner, every cover, every meter of the small area they were now defending.

Virox was not an exception. His second cold personality took over completely as he mowed down dozens of husks with his LMG, without a single change in his expression. He was killing them with cold blood. Not a single emotion went through his mind. He was a soldier. A soldier trained to kill. Kill without remorse or pity.

Beside him stood Nalik. He was shooting his pistol too, and there was no emotion on his face either. He finally accepted and embraced his fate as a child soldier in a war for the very existence of his species. Of course he was still a child, but War doesn't discriminate. Not a total war at least.

Somewhere on the right Virox saw Garrus and Javik firing at the never-ending wave of Reaper forces. They were disciplined too. This reminded him of the Suicide Mission. All of them stuck in an unwinnable fight, yet still finding strength to continue and carry on.

"Hold the line! Don't let them get through!" Virox heard a strong voice and turned around to see Indrigan with the rest of the staff from the base, as well as his four personal elite bodyguards. These bodyguards clearly got their rank for a reason. They fired in the semi-automatic mode and almost every time hit the head.

Indrigan himself was using a pistol, but with such ruthless grace, that the inspiration that the troops got from his presence was even stronger. Virox once saw a quote by one of the human military thinkers. "Leaders lead by example, not by force". Seeing him now on the battlefield caused a strange warmth in his chest.

A leader with his soldiers...

Together as equal...

During their last stand...

CRACK*

Virox stopped firing. It was one of these moments. He felt whole again. Even if it was to last just a moment, he treasured it. Both of his sides, the sassy and funny asshole, and the cold and obedient soldier, both of them wanted the same thing: to survive.

He took a moment to feel his body again, then quickly turned towards the husks. There was a new strength inside him.

"Kill them all!" He roared like a maniac and continued firing. Other soldiers, seeing this new motivation, joined in as well. They even started to throw smoke grenades, explosives, or anything that could effectively hinder the Reaper advance. Zia even appeared behind him and used her biotics to send a fighter wreck flying into the air, crushing about four husks. But then she collapsed to the ground. She was clearly exhausted, given the trauma she had to endure today.

'Fuck fuck fuck! Where are they?' Virox thought as his personality started to rapidly switch between one another. It often happened during panic, but right now he couldn't allow himself to do it. "WHERE THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS?"

He received no answer, but he didn't need to. Instead he heard a sound that made him want to cry from joy. The engines.

If he was to ever explain to someone how did it feel to see those ships, he wouldn't be able to. After the torment that was this planet, after loosing his squad, and seeing so many of his brothers and sisters die before him, he just felt that the nightmare was ending.

The gunships repeated their great entrance from before, but now did it much quicker. Not only did they land away faster, but they broke the ceiling completely to make more space to fly through.

"Come on!" One of the soldiers from the gunships screamed as they landed behind them.

Virox was about to rush towards him, but was stopped by what he saw beside him. All the corpses of soldiers who died with a delusion that they will be saved. He should've ran. He should've escaped and fled this nightmare. But he stayed and instead turned back to his living comrades

"Go! Get to the gunships! Run!" He yelled at them and grabbed one of them by the arm, then pushed towards salvation. "Get moving! Now!"

Surprisingly, the ships that seemed to be full were still waiting for some additional soldiers to squeeze in. But some of the soldiers just stayed. They just watched as the gunships landed and flew away. Virox approached one of them pointed at the landing zone.

"What are you waiting for!? Save yourself!" He shouted, unable to understand why did the soldier just stare.

The soldier slowly turned towards him and replied a silent. "No sir."

Virox was stunned. He felt shocked, disturbed, but what's strange... shame. Even in the face of this nightmare, they were loyal. Even in these mind breaking conditions, they were still willing to do their part and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. He wasn't so willing to give up salvation. He wanted to flee this hell. And that lone trooper was showing more loyalty than he could.

"Get out of here, sir. We'll cover you." Soldier said and after giving a quick salute he turned around towards the hangar entrance from where more husks would inevitably arrive.

Virox watched as he walked towards the danger. He would've probably stared at him for ages if not for the voice of Indrigan.

"Virox! Get your ass here!" General shouted with a tone that snapped him out.

He saw that Shepard, Zia and Nalik, as well as Garrus and Javik were already on board. It wasn't clear as to why they chose not to get into their own Kodiak shuttle, but he didn't have time to contemplate. With his grappling hook he got himself close and quickly jumped into the gunship which closed its doors shortly after. The short bump that shook the ship indicated that they have taken off.

As they flew away from the surface, Virox looked at the screen that acted like a window. The base was out of the camera's field of vision, but the capital city was clearly visible. Reapers were still there, murdering the ferocious resistance fighters that were chosen to die on this cursed planet. One could barely call that ruins anymore, as it looked more like a wasteland now.

It took them less than a minute to leave the atmosphere and their eyes were met with a fierce space combat. Carvin vessels have created a blockade around the planet, but Reapers were now trying to break it, as around three Reaper Destroyers were heavily assaulting a weakened flank of the Carvin fleet.

Suddenly all the Carvin ships started to turn around and retreat. Fighters stayed on the rear to cover the retreat, but most of the Reapers, including Capital ships, have broken off their pursuit and headed back towards the surface. Only a handful of Destroyers kept following the fleeing vessels.

"All ships, this is High General Seviros! Retreat from the system! I repeat, retreat from the system and rendezvous in the Lexaant system!" A voice message played through the speakers in the gunship came to life. There was some static as well, before it ended with "Qreten is lost. May they find peace."

It was at this moment that Virox noticed a small vessel, on the other side of the planet, completely out of range. The fact that he noticed it was a borderline miracle. The ship suddenly began to glow and fired something that headed towards the planet's surface. Virox didn't see it hit. He stared at the screen, knowing what was about to happen, yet still feeling like he only now understood it.

Then, after roughly 30 seconds (light needs time to travel), a bright flash filled the screen and when it vanished, Virox was looking at a red ball of fire, of a much smaller size than the planet used to be.

Virox stood there for... who knows how long. Even when the gunship docked into the hangar, he still stared at the screen that wasn't showing the explosion anymore. He felt like if along with the planet, something inside him was irreversibly destroyed. He would've probably stood there forever if not for Zia, who grabbed his hand and pulled.

"It's over, uncle. We're alive." She said with the calmest voice she could produce.

"Yeah... It's over." Virox sighed and turned around towards the door. When he left the gunship, he realized that this wasn't any kind of Carvin vessel. And it kind of felt familiar. "Wait! That's Normandy!"

It took him a moment to actually realize that he was back. He felt like he came home, even though there was some renovation. It was still home. The hangar bay of the Normandy Sr-2, which he rarely visited, still stuck in his memory because of the fight with the Oculus back in the day. But now there were Carvins crowding around the elevator, or resting all around the room. Garrus approached him from the side and put a hand on his arm.

"Welcome back." He said with a smile, and Virox resisted an urge to squeeze him so tight that he'd break his spine. "You should get yourself and the kiddos checked up with Chakwas."

"I'll... do that." Virox replied, still not fully recovered from the surprise.

When they actually got to the elevator, he pressed the '3' button and the doors closed. There was only him, the kids, Garrus, Javik, and Shepard. It almost seemed like a family reunion. Well, except for Javik who just kind of... existed for Virox.

The door opened and Virox led Zia and Nalik to the med bay, which was now crowded with Carvin soldiers. He opened the door, to see Doctor Chakwas tending to her Carvin patients along with another Carvin. When she saw Virox, she stopped and turned towards him.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." She said as if he was a child who did something bad and was now returning to his parents.

"Hello, Doctor. I hope that our guys don't give you trouble." Virox greeted her.

"Oh they don't, but I got so used to your hyperactivity, that I actually find them kind of dull." Chakwas chuckled and he joined her. "And I have some extra help."

"And who would that be?" Virox asked.

"The Calia here, who apparently is a medic as well." She pointed at the Carvin who assisted her.

Virox froze when she said that. This couldn't be true. And yet when the Carvin medic turned around and looked at him, and then the kids. Her eyes betrayed the surprise.

"Mom?"

 **A/N: And I leave you with a stupid ass cliffhanger. Because I'm a terrible human being, in addition to my already bad update rate. I'll see you soon and maybe not even after another month. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	10. Catching up

**A/N: OK, I'll admit it. I suck, I'm a terrible person, and my update rate has not improved a bit. I won't give you any vague promises of improvement anymore, since they don't work. Sorry if I'll update so slowly for some time. School is a bitch.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Guest: Well, isn't it a nice surprise, am I right? :D**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Normandy Sr-2, En route to Lexaant system, Deck 3, Medical lab.**

"Mom?" Zia whispered. Both she and Nalik slowly stepped forward from behind Virox.

Calia's eyes immediately shifted towards them. She let out a short, quiet gasp. A single tear fell down her cheek and down on the ground.

"I missed you so much." She whispered, and at that moment all three ran towards eachother and locked themselves in a tight embrace.

The entire scene was just so heartwarming. Kids were whimpering quietly as they hugged their mother, while Calia hugged them so tightly that she could break their backs any moment. Virox and Chakwas were just standing there, speechless. Even other Carvins in the room shifted their gaze towards them.

"I'm... assuming that you know eachother..." Chakwas said, trying to act as if she didn't feel awkward.

"...Yeah." Virox replied after a momet. It took him a while to process what she said. "Her mate was a friend of mine since I returned to the Empire after our mission at the Collector Base. But I thought she was dead when that Reaper shot their house and I took care of the kiddos."

When the now reunited family heard the word 'mate' they froze, looked at Virox, then back at eachother. The mood seemed to have worsened, as Nalik and Zia looked down with saddness.

"Did dad... did he..." Zia started, with her voice shaking, but her mother put a hand on her mouth, a Carvin gesture for silence.

"Shhh. Don't worry." She reassured her and patted her on the head, then pulled her arm towards the bed she was tending to earlier.

Virox approached too and looked at the Carvin who was lying on it. For a normal, non-Carvin person, the patient would look like any other Carvin. However his species has developed a way to memorize small details and various significant characteristics. In this case Virox noticed the major bruises and wounds on the head of the Carvin, as well as something else hanging from the chain of his dog tags. A medalion, Carvin equivalent of a wedding ring.

"Arill..." He whispered in disbelief.

"Dad!?" Both Nalik and Zia gasped in shock, which was soon replaced by joy. "Dad!"

They were about to give him a bear hug, but their mother stopped them.

"Not yet. He's in a bad state." She blocked them with her hands. "We'll be taking him to a hospital on Carvistorn. I'll spend all my savings to give him as much of a priority as possible."

Kids nodded their heads and just put their hands on their father's arm, to at least touch him, seemingly making sure he's still there.

"Well, what a happy family reunion, but as much as it pains me to interrupt it, we still have work to do." Chakwas finally decided to step in, then looked at Virox. "I can make a quick check-up to see if there's anything requiring my immediate attention, but if there isn't, I'll have to tend to my more... urgent patients."

"Alright then." Virox replied and approached the doctor.

Chakwas activated her omni-tool and held it in front of him for a while, pointing at his head, torso, and arms. Then she clicked some buttons a few times, and finally deactivated the omni-tool.

"My medical scanner registered that you have at least half a kilogram of bullets and shrapnel inside you. Nothing critical, as I learned by experience that your body can do the job itself with smaller pieces, but I'll try to get around to you once I'm done." She said. "Your body is healing slower than usual, but I'd attribute it to the shortage of food and water, as well as exhaustion. Other than that you're good to go."

"Gee, thanks doc." Virox chuckled and lightly pushed Nalik forward to go next.

Just like before Chakwas did the same type of check-up and looked down on the young Carvin with impressed expression.

"I've read the files that Virox sent me on the rapid growth of Carvin children, but when I see it now... it's unbelievable. Your wounds are healing much faster than those of your uncle." She stated with admiration. "Get some good rest and you'll be alright in no time."

It was now Zia's turn, and Virox had some sneaking suspicions as to how it would turn out. His worries were only reinforced as Chakwas spend an awfully long five seconds keeping the scanner on Zia's head. When she finally finished, she had a grim expression.

"Your brain... the strain you put on it..." She struggled to find words. "I can't believe you're still conscious and sane. But one thing is for certain. You must refrain from using your biotic powers for AT LEAST a week, and reduce any mental strain on your brain."

"But I'm feeling fine!" Zia protested, but Chakwas' expression turned stone cold.

"No discussion. Doctor's recommendation." She interrupted her with an autocratic, but then her expression turned more kind. "If I find some time for you, I'll try to do something to negate the effects of you over stressing your brain. But for now that is all I can do for you."

"It's alright, doc. Thank you." Virox reassured her, then turned towards Calia who was applying medi-gel to one of her Carvin patients. "I'll see you soon."

She responded with a nod and returned to the wounded Carvin. In the meantime, Virox patted Zia and Nalik on their backs, signaling them that it was time to go. They obliged.

"So..." Virox sighed and looked around the entire deck. "Since we have little to do now, how about I show you around? Although the place DID change since the last time I saw it."

"Cool." They both said at the same time and followed their uncle.

Virox first turned right, towards the long corridor that led to the Main Battery. Space that he used to share with Garrus. He still touched the walls of the ship, to feel that he was there again. When they approached the door, he pressed the button and they slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing the dark room that was the Main Battery. In front of them, but facing the other way was obviously Garrus, already calmly clicking buttons on the console.

"Hello Mr. Calibrations." Virox said and put a hand on his shoulder. "Already working?"

"Oh, you're back from Chakwas already?" Garrus turned around sharply, seemingly startled by this sudden entrance.

"Yeah, but she has more important matters to deal with, like stopping a few guys from bleeding out or some other shit like that." Virox replied, then put his hand on Zia's arm. "Only Zia needs some professional medical attention, but it's not so urgent. She did overstress her brain a little bit with those sick stunts she kept pulling off with her biotics."

"I already told you I'm fine!" The girl grumbled and tried to shake off Virox's hand, though her reaction was much slower and weaker than usual.

"Nuh uh, I've spent enough time with Chakwas to know that you shouldn't argue with her medical expertise." Her uncle shook his head.

"I have to back your uncle up here, kid. It's better to just accept it. She obviously has your health as her primary concern." Garrus added.

"Fine..." Zia rolled her eyes, but ultimately accepted the verdict.

"So, you finally decided to come home?" Turian turned back towards Virox.

"Actually, I was just showing them around the ship, and I guess I just started with the place I spent the most time in between missions." Virox explained.

"I'm surprised you're so calm... you know... after what happened." Garrus pointed out.

Virox turned around and stared at the wall for a few seconds. Both kids immediately stopped being as cheerful as they were before. Garrus thought that it was a mistake to say this, but then his friend sighed.

"Maybe it's just my fucked up head, or... I don't know. The point is that there are more important things to worry about." He said, though he couldn't hide the pain in his voice. "The time for mourning the dead will come later. Now we need to focus on what needs to be done."

"Ok. Just so you know, we're all in this together. You can spill anything out if you need to." Garrus gave him a strong pat on the back. Virox looked at him for a moment, then a small grin appeared on his face.

"Deal." He nodded, then turned towards Zia and Nalik. "Alright, I guess it's time for us to continue. Cheer up, because there's certainly a lot more to see."

Kids tried to act like they were happy, but it couldn't go away. Nevertheless, they politely waved goodbye to Garrus (after Virox glared at them with the most terrifying expression he could produce) and all three left the room. They walked to the right again and stood in front of the door.

"I remember that Miranda used to reside here, but with her gone, your guess as to who lives here now is as good as mine." Virox said and pressed the button to open the door. "Hello whoever lives here... now..."

He was startled at the amount of glow emitting from the room. Specifically the screens that covered most of the right side of the entire room. The desk that used to block the path to the other side as Virox remembered it was gone, and a smaller version was put on the left, behind what he could only guess was a giant computer. Then there was the bed on the far side of the room, but that remained unchanged.

"It seems that no one is home." Virox said as he looked around. "What the heck is all of this."

"If I were to take a guess, it's some kind of network, operated from here. At least partially." Nalik suggested, still observing all the equipment.

"You wouldn't be too far from the truth." A female voice spoke from behind.

The combat instincts, forcefully perfected during the time on Qreten instantly kicked in as all three of them immediately grabbed their sidearms and pointed at the source of the voice... which was an Asari standing in the doorway.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" She raised her hands up reassuringly. "Relax, it's alright. And in fact you're the ones invading someone's space."

"Oh, right..." Virox recovered from shock and holstered his weapon, followed by the kids. He stared at the Asari for a moment. "Wait a minute... I know you."

"I would be very surprised if you did not recognize me." She smiled. "Liara T'Soni. We worked together while hunting for the Shadow Broker."

"The who!?" Both Zia and Nalik gasped in surprise.

"But... I thought you were making that up, uncle!" Zia looked at Virox who had a smug expression on his face.

"So... this entire room is essentially..." Nalik began piecing it together.

"My Shadow Broker headquarters. Yes." Liara nodded. "Although it used to be larger when I still had the ship."

"The ship..." Young Carvin said in a tone suggesting that his mind was already somewhere else.

"Ok, ok. I think we already abused Liara's hospitality in more ways than one." Virox interrupted and nudged both of the little Carvins to leave. "It was nice seeing you again, Liara."

"Likewise." She replied and waved at them as they left.

Next, the three of them moved back to the area around the elevator and checked the rooms around. They mostly skipped the crew quarters (Virox rarely ever went there) and the room on the right, where Kasumi used to reside, as there was a card game going on, with people Virox didn't know. Surprisingly, the area occupied previously by Samara was also empty at the moment, although it was clear from the books on the couch, as well as other objects that someone did indeed live here.

"I guess that's all for Deck 3." Virox said. "Let's move to the lower levels."

They entered the elevator and he clicked the number 4 on the control panel. It was a few seconds before the doors opened again, revealing the window with a view on an entire hangar bay. It was now largely occupied by the Carvin CAAT, as well as the soldiers resting on crates or the ground. Virox turned left towards the room that used to be Grunt's home. But the moment they opened the door, they were met with a low voice.

"Leave." It said.

Virox looked around to see the weird alien, called Javik by Shepard and Garrus.

"Geez, man. We didn't even do anything to you." He replied with surprise.

"I do not care. Leave." Javik repeated.

"Asshole." Virox said and led the kids out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Zia asked.

"Beats me." Her uncle shrugged.

Instead of going inside the engineering room, they only peaked in, but when Virox didn't see the person he was looking for, he pulled the kids out, and headed right of the elevator.

"I wonder if anyone actually lives where Zaeed used to reside." He wondered and carefully opened the door. "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment, but then a sudden noise of something falling down, followed mumbling, broke it. Only a while later, a human female stepped into their sight lines.

"Oh..." She stared at them for a moment, with a surprised expression matching theirs.

"Uh..." Virox tried to get out of this awkward situation. "Forgive the intrusion. It's just that I used to live on this ship for some time, and I'm both showing my niece and nephew around the ship, as well as catching up with what has changed. We can leave if you want."

"Wait." The human stopped them with her hand raised. "You're the Carvin that some of the people were talking about... Did you serve with Commander Shepard during his time in Cerberus?"

"...Yes?" Virox looked at her suspiciously. "Not the ENTIRE time, but I just kind of hopped in after the first contact incident."

"And you have taken part in the defense of Qreten?" She continued, and Virox noticed her clicking something on her omni-tool.

"I have a strong feeling like you're some kind of spy, or a journalist. I don't like either." He replied, sharing his honest opinion. "Also, are you stupid? Or you just haven't taken a good look at me?"

He then pointed his hands at himself, to emphasize how battered he was.

"Oh... sorry." She looked baffled by the sudden outburst. "I didn't mean to."

"Well... if there's nothing else to say here, we'll just get on with our lives." Virox said, but she stopped them again before they could leave.

"Wait a moment!" She exclaimed and ran away from their sight for a while, then came back with a camera drone at her side. "I know this might be really insensitive, but you're right that I'm a reporter and-"

"Let me guess... You want an interview." Virox interrupted her with an annoyed expression. "Look, I get that this thing will be hot shit for the media to cover, but I think that I speak for all three of us when I say we're not in the mood."

Zia and Nalik nodded in approval.

"True, but consider that the media will be onto the Carvin leadership, now that they literally blew up a planet, which will for sure demonize them. You don't want that, do you?" She asked.

Virox took a moment to think about it. With how sensitive the galactic community could be, especially if the media might colorize the story, the entire civilized space-faring world will despise them. Maybe saying something in defense of their leaders, from someone that has actually been there could make the matter seem a bit clearer.

"Alright, but I don't even know your name." He finally said. "By the way I'm Virox Ri'Kaan.

"Diana Allers, war correspondent from Alliance News Network, and the main reporter for the show 'Battlespace'." Reporter introduced herself.

"Now that you say it that way, it sounds like a TV show for kids." Virox commented. "But who am I to judge? Let's get on with it." He then looked at the kids. "You stay away from the camera."

It took a few seconds for everything to be set up, and Virox had to change standing spots five times to have an 'acceptable background'. Finally, a red lamp appeared on the camera drone, indicating the start of the recording.

"Welcome again to 'Battlespace'. My name is Diana Allers and today we will be taking a look at the Battle of Qreten, as well as its... disturbing conclusion." Diana started. "My guest here is a soldier who was stationed on Qreten during the attack, and who might give us some insight on the battle, as well as clear up misconceptions. Please, introduce yourself."

"Lieutenant Virox Ri'Kaan, 2nd company of the 6th regiment, 260th mechanized." Virox said, while trying to not twitch. The camera made him feel uncomfortable.

"First and one of the most important questions: were you present on Qreten when the Reapers attacked?" Diana asked.

"Yes, I was stationed on Qreten for a few months before the Reaper arrival." He replied.

"And can you tell us how exactly did the Reapers initially attack the planet?"

"Well, we weren't fighting on the surface from Day 1. When the first attack came, it was just to test our defenses, from what I know."

"True, but the Carvin defensive fleets have held firmly even when the main attack came. Can you give us any hints as to why?" Diana asked.

"I guess there were a few factors to that." Virox started, though he felt something else in his head, seemingly giving him ideas what to say. "First one is the fact that Qreten was attacked by the Collector forces roughly a year ago. It caused the colony to invest more into defensive infrastructure, and combine it with the pre-war mobilization effort, it was better prepared. Second of all is the amount of ships used in the defense, which was pretty substantial. And then there are the Ion Cannons that proved to be kicking some serious Reaper ass. There were probably more reasons but as you see, I'm a grunt."

"But when the Reapers finally reached the planet, the defense line was falling apart, am I right?" Diana pointed out.

"Yeah, so far there's no effective conventional way of taking out the Reaper ships on the planet, other than of course orbital bombardment or using fighters and bombers." Virox kept going, which amazed not even himself but the kids as well. They were giving him surprised expressions, that also had a pinch of awe.

"Nevertheless, the time you managed to hold on is still impressive." Diana said. "Do you have any ideas as to why, besides the ones you already mentioned?"

"Tenacity, determination, the fact that we had nowhere to flee, and most importantly, Reapers allowed us too much freedom." He replied.

"Can you... specify?" This time Diana was visibly confused.

"I don't know how much people of the core worlds know, but the Reapers need our corpses relatively intact." Virox explained. "You can't make a husk out of half a corpse. And they can't obtain as much of our genetic material if the body is severely damaged. The point is that they NEED to restrain themselves from using their most destructive potential to utilize the advantage that capturing our corpses is. But I can tell you from experience that Reaper husks usually are pretty weak, and they are no match for us in close quarters combat. Most of them are really dumb as well."

"Alright. What's your opinion on the deployment of over one million conscripted soldiers on the planet, without the stable supply line to support them?" Diana asked.

That one caught him off-guard. He also questioned the idea behind it, but he had to somehow appear as if this was justified.

But as he was about to speak, the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

"Well from a moral standpoint, you'd think that this was an unnecessary waste of life. But, if you consider the actions of our command later, then you might change your mind." He said, basically thinking out loud. "If the Reapers want the genetic material... then a giant amount of soldiers seems like a nice juicy meal from their point of view. So they come in greater numbers... and then the planet blows up, killing all the Reapers, husks and destroying all the potential corpses and genetic material to harvest or transform. A costly victory, but a success in the long run."

"That's... a pretty terrifying yet logical explanation." Diana said. "One last question. Do you approve of what has been done?"

"Look, I'm not the one to have complains. I knew what I signed up for when I joined the military. You usually don't get the luxury of voicing your own opinion." Virox replied. "But if you really want my opinion, then... I guess I have no better idea. What happened was traumatizing to say the least, but I guess it achieved its main goal."

"You seem to be taking it pretty well, considering that it happened just half an hour ago." She noticed.

"It's not like I don't feel anything. I just put it aside for a moment when I'll be able to let it out. Like I said before, we don't get the luxury to complain." Virox shrugged.

"Thank you, Virox for this interview. I'm sure that what you said will help clear up any misconceptions people might have after what happened at Qreten." Diana nodded, then turned towards the camera. "And thank you for watching 'Battlespace'. Stay tuned for more information, as soldiers from all races continue to resist the Reapers." She clicked a button on her omni-tool and the red light on the camera drone vanished. "Well, that was pretty good. I'll try to polish it here and there, then I'll send it to my manager."

"Sounds good. Even after being on the Citadel only a few times I realized that these people are probably sitting on their asses watching the news, but don't realize that there's a real war going on." Virox said.

"Unfortunately." Diana replied. "I'm assuming that I won't need to worry about any lawsuits from you due to me using your face on the video."

"Are you kidding? Other races can barely see the differences between people from our race." He laughed. "If you'll ever get a lawsuit, it's either gonna be from the military itself, or from someone who disagreed with what was said in the video."

"Fair enough." She nodded.

"Well, since the moment has passed, I guess we'll be going. We spent too much time here already." Virox said and looked at Nalik and Zia. "Come on. There's still the hangar, since there's some new stuff there, as well as Deck 2."

Both kids stood up and waved goodbye to Diana, and left with Virox towards the elevator.

"How did you know?" Zia finally asked as the door slid open.

"Know what?" He asked back.

"... Know how to answer her questions in a convincing way?" She specified. "Haven't you noticed it? You suddenly got the ideas and figured out the meaning of the entire operation in a matter of seconds."

Virox had trouble to reply to that. It was strange to him as well, since it came so unexpectedly. But the feeling was quite familiar. He felt very similarly back then right before the Suicide Mission. When they flew through the debris field, and something in his head activated, causing him to feel like he recognized some of the wrecks. Weird.

"I'll have to think about it too." He said with honesty.

"Are you... ok?" Nalik asked with worry.

"Yeah... let's go." Virox cut the conversation as the door slid open.

They couldn't take a good look at the hangar bay when they left the shuttle. Now Virox could see that a lot has changed. He wasn't visiting the bay often, usually just to get to the shuttle, but the entire room looked like someone was in the middle of a repaint but at one point suddenly abandoned the idea. Nevertheless, it looked more appealing to him than before. Maybe it was the orange color that got him.

Then they heard grunts from the left. All of them turned towards the direction the noise came from, just to see a muscular human male, doing pullups on a bar. The entire area around the bar seemed like it has beem appropriated by a specific person, which they guessed was the man using the bar.

When they approached him, he stopped mid-pull and took a closer look at Virox.

"So you're the crazy Carvin that Scars and others keep talking about." He said and dropped down.

"I'm sorry, who?" Virox was confused.

"Scars. The Turian. I gave him that nickname, because of... you know." He smirked.

"Ah..." Virox nodded, still a bit confused. "Virox, by the way. And since I'll probably be staying here, I'm assuming you already have a million of nicknames for me."

"Good guess. James Vega by the way." The Human introduced himself and they shook hands. "So how do you like 'Sawbones'? From your tail? Or Terminator? Nah, you won't get it."

"How about Jaws?" Virox joined the brainstorm. "You know, since I have two sets, and one actually consists of three?"

"Hey... that's a pretty good idea." James said, impressed. "Jaws it is."

"Geez, uncle you really are crazy." Zia rolled her eyes, seemingly ignoring what happened earlier.

"Shut up. I'm trying." Virox snapped playfully, then turned back towards James. "So this is your little corner?"

"Yep. Anything I need and want, including dumbbells, the pull-up bar, and a table to work on my weapons." James said, while pointing at everything. "Not much, compared to others, but I don't complain. Sometimes simplicity is better."

"Agreed." Virox nodded. "Was good to meet you, James."

"Likewise, Jaws. See you around." James gave him a little human-style salute and they headed back to the elevator.

There were a few other people around, including one human trying to fix something with the engines of a Kodiak shuttle, but Virox ignored them. There would be time for more chatting. Now he wanted to see a certain wise-ass, arrogant pilot, that just so happened to be flying the Normandy.

"Come on. I need to introduce you to someone." He said to Zia and Nalik as they entered the elevator (again).

"Who?" The former asked.

"I think you'll like him. He's the kind of person that I joke around with, though he doesn't have as dark sense of humor as I do." Virox explained.

After a moment that took the elevator to get them to Deck 2, the doors opened, revealing the shiny room on the other side.

"Whoa..." Nalik gasped in amazement. "Look at all this stuff! I wish I had some more time to take a look at everything, and see how it works..."

"Nerd!" Zia teased him.

"Oh bugger off, hothead!" Her brother snapped back, visibly irritated at her.

They continued to argue, until the long corridor that led to the cockpit finally ended with the door. Virox then silenced them both, and opened the door.

"Well, well, well... Look who we have here? The asshole pilot himself." He grinned as he walked in.

"Well, well, well... Look who we have here? The crazed maniac himself, has returned." Joker grinned back after his chair turned 180 degrees towards him. He then looked at Zia and Nalik on both sides. "And you managed to become a father to two kids? Geez, Virox. I always knew you were off with the head, but I don't envy the woman that gave birth to both these children in such a short amount of time."

"Fuck you!" Both kids replied in a perfect unison.

"And it seems that they have inherited their wit from the father." Joker's grin grew wider.

"I'm actually an uncle to them." Virox said. "Well, not a biological one, but I became friends with their father, and the whole 'uncle' title is a result of a misunderstanding in translation. You humans, as well as most of the other races don't have a word for a person who is kind of a voluntary member of a certain family, so I guess the 'uncle' is a simplified term." (A/N: Yes, I'm gonna continue using the term 'uncle', if you're wondering.)

"Uh huh." Was Joker's reply, though he still didn't seem convinced.

"He's right, Jeff. I have checked the linguistic program that contains the translation data for the Carvin language and it appears that Virox is saying the truth." Another familiar voice spoke from the right side.

"EDI?" Virox looked around in confusion, as the voice did not come from any of the speakers, nor her terminal that was placed in the cockpit too.

"Yes." The source of the voice revealed itself, as a second pilot's chair also turned towards the three of them, revealing a female-looking synthetic body.

It took a while for them to process what they were seeing.

"I ship it." Virox finally said and let out a chuckle he desperately tried to hide. "Get it? Cuz EDI basically IS the ship?" (A/N: I deserve to die.)

"I agree." Zia answered after a moment of thinking whether to be impressed or embarrassed for her uncle.

"Me too." Nalik added without hesitation.

"What the-" Joker was about to burst into explanations and denial, but EDI interrupted him.

"Language, Jeff. We have youth among us." She said with a voice of an upset mother, scolding her son.

"Oh, really? They are allowed to swear, but I'm not?" He asked, not even showing the genuine anger in his voice.

"You should be an example for them." EDI explained.

"Yeah... that won't work." Virox chuckled nervously. "They picked up a few bad habits on Qreten that aren't coming off easily, and some might even stay until the end of their lives."

"And I'm fine with that." Zia added, with the most smug expression she could make, and tried to show off, by activating her biotics to glow around her, but after less than a second she felt dizzy and started loosing balance.

"ZIA!" Virox practically yelled at her and caught her before she could fall, then turned her towards his face. "What? Did? Chakwas? Tell? You? About? Using? Your? Fucking? Biotics?"

"S-sorry." She stuttered a bit, since it was rare for her uncle to have an outburst like that.

"You're going to the Medical lab, tell your mother what you did, and wait patiently for Chakwas to examine you." Virox ordered.

"What? But..." Zia tried to argue, but Virox cut her off.

"That was not a request. That was an order from a superior." He said with voice cold as vacuum.

Zia nodded her head, and still massaging it she left the room and headed to the elevator.

"Sheesh... talk about overreaction." Nalik whistled, though fell silent when Virox glared at him. "I didn't say anything?"

"I agree with you." Joker said.

"Well, at least he cares, Jeff." EDI defended him.

It was at that moment that most of the tension just seemed to have disappeared from Virox. He started laughing, because the entire situation felt so familiar, so close to the memories he had on this ship a year before.

'It's good to be home.' He thought as the happiness was so strong he could almost forget that there was a galaxy-wide war going on.

Almost.

 **Normandy Sr-2, en route to Lexaant system, Deck 2, War room, Communication node.**

Shepard stood in the comm room alone, looking at the now deactivated holographic projector. He has hastily assembled a report on the mission and its conclusion on the way to Normandy, and sent it immediately to Admiral Hackett. It was less than ideal in its content and form, but to him at least it was important that the Admiral receive this information as soon as possible. He was now waiting for the inevitable response.

As Normandy was being dragged by another Carvin ship to Lexaant system to drop off the soldiers and the High General Indrigan, the atmosphere on the ship was tense at least. Carvins (with the exception of Virox and the kids he was protecting) weren't exactly very social, and combined with the destruction of Qreten, they were almost unapproachable, making the crew even more nervous.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the holographic projector came to life and the glowing particles formed into the silhouette of Admiral Hackett. It was clear from his expression that their mood was similar.

"I have read your report, Commander... and it's disturbing..." He started, his voice showing his emotions clearly. "To blow up an entire planet..."

"It was decided between the Carvin High Generals from what I know. They were preparing for this for some time." Shepard said.

"I would be surprised if they weren't... it still doesn't make it any less shocking." Hackett replied. "Carvins are probably one of the only ones that fully take this war seriously if they resort to such brutal measures."

"High General Indrigan mentioned that he envisioned this was as the most total war that ever occured for the Carvin Empire." Shepard added. "He said that every man, woman and child will have to contribute to success."

"As much as we might hate it being a possibility, he's probably right." Admiral sighed. "I'm still impressed that the planet itself managed to resist the Reapers for so long with moderate effectiveness."

"I've seen the city, sir. And it was probably the best representation of the stance that Carvins took in this war." Shepard said. "They are going to fight until the bitter end, and Qreten was a way to buy them some time to prepare a bit more."

"Agreed. But as disturbing as this entire situation is, the Carvin attrition strategy might've caused a bit more damage than we may have previously thought." Hackett said and activated his omni-tool, which then caused the holographic projector to display a galactic map. "After mere minutes after the moment you claim the explosion took place, multiple main Reaper offensives have drastically slowed down or even stalled completely. In some systems attacks were stopped as Reapers just retreated. And they are constantly diverting ships and resources from other planets towards Carvin-controlled territory. Even from Earth."

"They got the Reapers' attention." Shepard concluded. "The question is if it's good or bad."

"It's difficult to say for now. We're not sure how big of a force Reapers plan to divert to reconstruct the Carvin front, and how effective will the Carvin preparations be." Hacket said. "But it's clear that this had helped other races on almost all fronts. Although it would be bad if too many Reaper forces decided to focus on the Carvins. We need their fleets and soldiers, but also their incredibly high industrial capacity."

"I will make sure to pass this message to High General Indrigan." Shepard nodded.

"Good. Hackett out." Admiral's hologram slowly vanished, leaving Shepard alone again.

He sighed and slowly walked out of the communication node, then looked at the galaxy map in the war room. It would take a while for the new data to be processed and analyzed by the program that calculated the effective strength of the summit, as well as predicted Reaper movements, but few key elements could be seen now already. For instance, the estimated number of Reaper ships significantly decreased in Turian and Human territory, and even in the conquered parts of the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems. As much as he hated to admit it, Shepard could now see the reasoning behind the decisions made by the Carvin High Generals. Or at least some of them.

"Uh, Commander? Could you come here for a second?" The voice of Traynor from the speakers interrupted his analysis.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's... your Carvin friend." She sounded a bit unsure. "He somehow managed to get his hands on both levo and dextro amino alcohol and there are loud noises coming from the cockpit... I think you might want to investigate."

'Oh boy... he really is back.' Shepard thought, imagining what could now be happening in the cockpit.

With Virox back, their fight with the Reapers might just turn out a tiny bit more fun.

 **A/N: Yes I know it's shorter, yes I know the update rate sucks, and yes the chapter isn't perfect. If I update anything before the New Year's Eve, it'll be a Christmas bloody miracle. Then again I'll have more time to write. I hope you don't hate me and did not abandon the story just yet. So if I won't write anything before the New Year's Eve, I wish you all merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year just in case. Carry on! Bonker out!**


	11. Forging an Alliance

**A/N: So, there was no New Year chapter unfortunately. Apologies, but I'm going through a hard time right now, both mentally and physically. I'm finishing writing this right after the exams, so please be forgiving for both the update rate and the chapter's length too. There will be more combat and action in the next one, I promise.**

 **No reviews this time.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Normandy Sr-2, En route to Lexaant system, Deck 2, Cockpit.**

"Alright... how did all of this alcohol get here?" Shepard asked a moment after stepping inside the cockpit. The view was... intriguing to say the least.

Joker was lying on his pilot chair, mumbling something about 'pesky Carvins and their livers' while holding a bottle of unlabeled alcohol. Garrus was leaning on the wall, a bit more sober than Joker, but still laughing. In his hand there was what Shepard could only assume was a Turian brandy. The cause of all this however, Virox himself, was standing... relatively straight with no support and was giggling like a maniac. He and EDI were the only people who were standing at the moment without any support, although there was about half a dozen empty bottles that he did not recognize lying at his feet. EDI herself stayed within a safe distance from the entire mess, observing the scene with disgust, disappointment and... curiosity?

Virox, upon seeing Shepard turned his face towards him and waved happily.

"Hey Shep! Wanna *burp* join the fun?" He asked, one of his eyes twitching violently.

"Unfortunately I'm here to stop you, guys." Shepard sighed, though he couldn't hide a tiny smile on his face. At least Virox stayed relatively the same during this year of absence. Or so it seemed so far. "You're freaking out the entire ship."

"Excuse me!?" Virox made an attempt to frown, but his intoxicated state, even with the natural alcohol resistance, made it quite difficult to pull off. "Kelly wannabe-replacement is not the entire ship!"

"Eh... fair point. Still doesn't change the fact that I would really appreciate it if you toned down." Shepard said, but let out a chuckle on how Virox called Traynor. He obviously didn't know her name or even her specialization so it was probably natural for him to associate her with the person who used to take her place. He wasn't too far from the truth though.

"Grunt left a lot of ryncol from Tuchanka in a stash that shall not be revealed..." He grinned and took a sip from the bottle. "And it's glooooooooriiiiiiioooooouuuuuuusssss!"

Shepard was about to object, but suddenly Virox stiffened, seemingly noticing something behind him.

"Lieutenant Virox Ri'Kaan." A lower and quieter, yet colder Carvin voice came. Shepard turned around to see High General Indrigan eyeing Virox with an unreadable expression.

"Yezzz sir!" Virox stiffened even more as he stood at attention, trying to keep one of his eyes from twitching wildly.

"I would... politely ask you to not damage any equipment of this military vessel nor completely deplete its alcohol reserves." Indrigan said calmly, though this time there was some empathy in his voice. Like someone who did not appreciate what their subordinate did, but understood why they did it and could emphasize with them.

"Yes sssir!" Virox nodded and saluted in a Carvin way. It was kind of funny watching him desperately remain professional. Shepard was about to try to bring him to reality, but the High General's gaze turned towards him.

"Commander. A word please?" He asked.

"Sure." Shepard replied.

They both walked through the corridor leading to the cockpit.

"I cannot express my gratitude for assisting in saving so many of my men, Commander. With that victory, the Reapers will have to reorganize on most, if not all fronts." Indrigan said.

"Victory..." Shepard sighed. He still could barely comprehend how anyone could think that it was a victory. Then again, they kept telling and showing him that they were willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. It seemed like they were sticking to that idea.

"We won't bring back the dead, Commander. Besides, you will see how big of a victory you pulled off. Or rather WE will see." Indrigan said.

"What do you mean?" Shepard looked at him suspiciously.

"When we land on Carvistorn, as we refuel and rearm your ship with everything we have available, I would like you to come with me personally on a meeting of High Generalship, the head of Carvin government." Indrigan explained. "Now I could send you the data on our support after the fact, but your presence is crucial, since our exact contribution to your summit has not been agreed upon just yet. They all mostly respect you. You will put pressure on them by simply being there. And you must look like you demand them to uphold their end of the bargain."

"Alright. Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"Ah, watch out for the press that will undoubtedly appear around the ship once we touch down. They WILL try to ask you difficult questions we are all unsuited to answer at the moment." Indrigan warned. "Some of them aren't even a real press. They just mastered the way of turning what you say to fit their agenda. So just stay away."

"Noted." Shepard nodded.

"I'll see you at the airlock when we land." Indrigan gave a quick, human-style salut to him, and walked back to the elevator, possibly to take care for his soldiers.

'Well, let's see if it was actually worth.' Shepard sighed mentally and walked back to the cockpit to separate Virox from the alcohol.

 **(TIME SKIP)**

 **Lexaant system, Carvistorn, Travalaan, Military docks, Normandy Sr-2, Deck 2, Airlock.**

"Well shit. That's a lot of people." Virox stated as he saw the crowd of people blocked by the guards with riot shields.

"We need to quickly get the wounded to the hospitals." Indrigan said with a serious tone. They are stable... for now, and I don't want to find out how long they can remain that way." He then looked at Shepard. "Commander? You're ready?"

"Yes. However I would be glad if I could actually have at least two of my people accompany me." Shepard replied. Indrigan rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Alright. Garrus and Virox, you're with me."

They all left the ship, walking quickly and making way for the wounded on the makeshift stretchers. However then there was the horde of press that gathered right around the shield wall formed by the Carvin security.

"High General Indrigan, could you tell us-" One of the journalists started, but was pushed back by a shield.

"How do you explain-" Another one began, but followed a similar fate.

"Commander Shepard, did you support-GAAAAAH!" That one wanted to forcefully climb over the shield wall, but was quickly treated with a shock baton of a much higher voltage than its human counterparts, as the blue sparks were clearly visible.

All this time, they walked in silence, trying to not look at the press. The security forces have made a corridor from shields that led to... a train station? But what worried Shepard more was Virox. He walked slowly, to match their speed, but his eyes were twitching and blinking rapidly. However it was different than his drunk phase. He was also looking around at all the press and whispered to himself.

"It's fine. It's fine. It's totally fine." He kept repeating the phrase all the time.

Some of the journalists tried to use their camera drones to capture footage, but those were quickly pushed back under pressure of the security drones that also joined the scene.

The hallway of shields finally led them to what looked like some kind of high-speed rail train. Shepard didn't know they used such antiquated solutions for transport, but still entered the train. But as he was about to sit, another figure appeared. Someone with their omni-tool activated and a glowing red light on their visor.

"High General, Commander Shepard. Could you explain your actio-" The hidden reported was about to ask, but didn't get to finish.

Virox darted towards him at incredible speed, knocked him down and pinned him to the floor, unleashing a terrifying screech in the reporter's face. Soldiers in the train were about to intervene, but Indrigan stopped them simply by raising his hand. Virox in the meantime punched the guy's face, severely damaging the visor and the camera that was in it, then grabbed him by the neck, walked towards the entrance to the train, and punched the poor guy back to the swarm of journalists, still trying to get to the train. He quickly collapsed after that and shook his head a little bit.

"Whoa... what did I miss?" He asked with confusion.

"You... just punched a reporter out of the train." Garrus uttered, still trying to recover from shock.

"Ah." Carvin nodded, his confusion quickly passing. "Serves the bastard right."

"Time to go." Indrigan interrupted the exchange as the last wounded have been loaded into the train.

The moment all the doors closed, all of them felt a strong force that indicated the train was leaving its station. It was moving incredibly fast.

"We'll drop off the wounded at the hospital in a moment, then ride straight to the meeting." Indrigan told them as he sat calmly on one of the seats. It didn't take the train even 3 minutes to get to its first destination. An impressive time considering the antiquated form of the transport.

'Hospital' was a bit of an understatement. The complex was not only incredibly high but also large, with multiple landing pads for medical shuttles. And knowing the Carvin utilitarianism, they probably had a similar sized part underground.

Suddenly Shepard felt the train decelerate as an invisible force pushed him forward, though he managed to maintain balance.

"Make it quick." Indrigan said to one of the soldiers that was carrying stretchers. The soldier nodded and the moment the doors opened, all of them quickly left the train. They were immediately being intercepted by the medical personnel that was awaiting them. It didn't take long for all of them to leave and the train resumed its journey towards the location of the meeting.

"You excited, Shepard?" Garrus asked from his seat. "To stand before the entire government of the Carvin Empire?"

Shepard thought about it for a moment. It was an honor for sure, but his presence here was clearly political and symbolic, just like Indrigan said. Then again, he made a name for himself before on the now destroyed Qreten and the meeting would surely be recorded and transmitted across the Empire and maybe the galaxy.

"You could say that. But we need to be careful with what we say. Carvin support depends on this meeting." He finally replied.

"An accurate assumption, Commander." Indrigan said from his seat. "I can give you a little advice as to how you should speak to them."

"I'm listening." Shepard said.

"Do understand that I shall fulfill my end of the bargain and contribute my forces to your summit, as well as advocate on delegating as much of our resources to it." High General warned him. "Now as to speaking itself, you should appear strong, decisive, and most importantly honest. Don't play with some sneaky underhanded moves, because they will bring you down. And base your argumentation on facts and your own experience."

"Seems logical." Shepard summed up.

"I have to warn you, Commander." Indrigan didn't finish yet. "Your... overly idealistic and paragon attitude may be frowned upon. You might want to restrain it."

"Noted." Shepard nodded and turned his attention towards the exit, as the train decelerated.

The doors opened again, and all four of them walked out. Indrigan took the lead and signaled Shepard to follow him. Security at the entrance first blocked the entrance, but upon seeing Indrigan's insignia, they immediately opened the door and let them through.

Inside the complex turned out to be more than just a command center. The windows on both sides of the hallway they were walking through were reinforced, because on the other side, there was a simulation room. At the moment, dozens of Carvins were running through an empty field with little to no cover, while being shot at from higher elevations by other Carvins. The bolts used were zapping the target with electricity, stunning them which rendered them out of action. The objective was seemingly to reach the more fortified positions intact and capture them.

In another room soldiers were practicing hand to hand combat and fought 1v1 matches against one another. However the instructors were apparently allowing for real wounds to happen as Shepard noticed bruises and cuts on one of the soldiers, as well as blood dropping down from their jaw. One of the instructors came up to one of the defeated Carvins, lifted him up by his neck and choke-slammed him into the ground.

The next simulation center was a crawling exercise. The trainees were trying to move along the barbed wire, meat, boulders and other obstacles. The instructors were moving around, occasionally shooting near the crawling recruits, and tossing grenades here and there to make things more challenging.

"It's a command center AND a training center?" Garrus literally stole that question from Shepard.

"Yes." Indrigan simply replied.

"You use brutal methods of training." Shepard noticed.

"War IS brutal. And the more they sweat and bleed here, the less they'll die out there." High General explained. The lack of emotion in his voice should've concerned Shepard, but... it just didn't.

That got him thinking. Did the Carvins really just desensitize him to suffering this much? Or was it his 'soldier' part that helped him to accept it. Or maybe he just started to accept that they weren't... normal, at least compared to other races.

"We're here." Indrigan said, as they reached a massive door. It was unguarded, but the cameras on both sides of the door gave a message that it sure as hell wasn't unprotected. Indrigan extended his cybernetic arm to the lock, and placed his hand on it. Shepard saw him twitch a little, and the door started to open. As Indrigan retracted his hand, there was a hole in his palm, which quickly closed.

'Strange.' Shepard thought.

All four of them walked inside, only to see a giant table in the middle, surrounded by consoles, operated by Carvin officers and staff. The table itself was massive, and Shepard noticed that only 2 other High Generals were present in person. Others were either displayed as holograms, or weren't present at all. There were 8 seats in total.

"Let me handle the introduction." Indrigan stopped Shepard with his hand, then took a seat among other High Generals.

Shepard obeyed, and stayed back, along with Virox and Garrus, the latter feeling a little uneasy.

"Ah, Indrigan. You finally decided to join us." One of the holographic High Generals spoke, with a tone that Shepard immediately recognized as venomous.

"Yes indeed." Indrigan replied, with a colder voice. "Unlike you, I actually bothered to attend in person."

"You're being cozy on Carvistorn, while we are there on the frontlines, fighting the enemy. We have our reasons to contact you from there." Another one said.

Indrigan shifted his gaze towards the High General who spoke. Shepard saw him from profile, but it was enough to make him feel nervous.

"You know well, that I just came back from Qreten. So don't talk to me about the 'frontline combat'." He made sure that every single word was soaked with chill.

"Settle down. We cannot let ourselves to be bothered by our petty divisions. There are Reapers on our doorstep that need killing." A more high-pitched, yet still cold voice spoke from one of the seats. Shepard immediately recognized Tivennia.

"And we have someone that we owe something too." A hologram appeared on one of the empty seats. This time Shepard immediately recognized Seviros from his seat. He was sitting right next to Tivennia.

"Ah, the famous Commander Shepard... a pleasure to finally meet you in person." One of the physically present High Generals said. He specifically put some emphasis on the word 'pleasure', which was only confirmed by a growl from Virox. "Oh... and you actually brought Seviros' pet with you."

"Save it, Kraytt." Tivennia snapped sharply. "Despite their... personal relationship, the information that Virox provided was invaluable. And his combat skills are above average. The fact that he survived Qreten while in the City proves that."

Shepard was confused. Seviros' pet? Personal relationship? What the hell was up with Virox. He looked at his Carvin friend, only to see him staring at the ground, gritting his inner jaws.

"What's all this about?" Shepard asked quietly.

"Later." Virox simply replied in an equally quiet voice, though his jaws were twitching.

"Oh, you're defending them now." The High General named Kraytt said, then turned towards Shepard. "I thought that the Commander was a hero, who doesn't need babysitting. Or is he another wannabe, who just got famous off other people's deaths?"

Shepard was about to adress what he said, but a growl from behind him startled him. He quickly turned around to see Virox murderously glaring at Kraytt. His eyes were pure hatred.

"Don't you dare!" He growled like a wild animal.

Kraytt looked at the Carvin soldier, eyed him up and down, and let out a chuckle. Now Shepard wasn't familiar with Carvin customs, but you didn't have to be a genius to see that this wasn't exactly a gesture of respect.

"You stay around this type of people, Commander? I pity you." He said.

This was the final straw for Virox. He bumped into Shepard from behind and dashed at Kraytt with an omni-blade ignited. Shepard was about to stop him, but his fingers barely touched his left cybernetic arm. Kraytt remained seated, but when Virox swung at him, he blocked his hand with his own, stood up, delivered a punch to Virox's face. Virox, dazed by such a strong strike, stumbled back, and Kraytt knocked him down on the ground. He then reached for something that looked like a knife.

It was at this moment, that Shepard recovered from shock. As Kraytt was about to touch the handle of his knife, Shepard pulled out his N7 Piranha and aimed it at Kraytt's head, just as he pressed his knife to Virox's throat.

"Let. Him. Go." Shepard demanded. Neither the guards nor the other High Generals reacted to this scene so far.

"Or what?" Kraytt asked with a mocking tone.

"Or I'll shoot."

This caused a nervous movement in the staff of the base, but the High Generals remained silent and calm. Guards were gripping their weapons tightly. Some officers stopped with their assignments and observed the situation.

"I do not think you understand, Commander." Kraytt said, pressing the knife harder to Virox's throat. "All the guards in the room can shoot you within one second or less. You'll die quickly."

"It won't change the fact that you'll be dead." Shepard snarled. He followed Indrigan's advice. It wasn't his style of interaction, but Carvins respected strength of body and will. He needed to appeal to their liking.

"So will you." Kraytt remained too calm. It started to piss him off.

"Will I?" This time Shepard asked mockingly. "Without me there might not be an Alliance at all. Do you think that the Council and the people in general will forgive and forget what you did at Qreten? You'll be on your own, and while you might go down slower, you'll still fall like all of us." He stopped for a moment to let his words sink in, not just with Kraytt, but everyone in the room. "I'm gonna say it nicely one last time. Let. Him. Go."

There was a brief moment of silence. Kraytt's knife was already wet with Virox's blood, as it slowly poured on the floor, drop by drop. The tension was almost physical. It could be felt in the air.

And then... Kraytt started laughing. This time it was not a mocking laugh though. More like an honest laugh of satisfaction and admiration.

"As your fellow humans would say, you've got the balls, Commander." He said and released Virox, who quickly stood up and walked away, while applying medi-gel to his wounded throat. Kraytt in the meantime still looked at Shepard. "You've proven that you're strong enough, Commander. You can count on the support of my troops and the industrial power of my sector."

"You can count on mine too." Another High General rose from his seat.

"I'll divert my resources to your summit as well." One of the holographically displayed Generals added.

"Our contribution is obvious." Tivennia said as she and Seviros rose from their seats.

Eyes turned towards Indrigan and the remaining two High Generals.

"I will honor our agreement, Commander." Indrigan nodded his head at Shepard. "My forces will fight alongside you."

"However, we must refuse." One of the remaining High Generals said.

"Do not take it personally, nor as disrespect." His friend added. "But the Empire is already going to contribute a lot of resources to your summit. We will save our forces strictly for defense purposes, so they can buy time for your Alliance to have an effect, as well as building the supposed super weapon that you're developing. Meanwhile the rest of our forces will be able to contribute to the galaxy-wide war effort more directly."

"I understand." Shepard reassured them. "We should be going now. I need to go back to the Citadel."

"Good luck, Commander." Indrigan said. "May your hunt be successful."

All three of them, Garrus, Virox and himself, left the room. In the hallway that they passed through before, a lone soldier was waiting for them.

"I am to escort you to your ship." he simply said, and then walked with them.

As they passed through the corridors of the complex, Shepard shifted his attention back to Virox, who was still scratching his throat from time to time.

"What's the deal between you and Seviros?" He finally asked. "There must be a reason they call you his 'pet'."

Virox looked down and sighed. It was obviously not a pleasant topic for him to talk about. But surprisingly enough, Shepard also noticed Garrus looking the other way, acting a bit nervous, and other suspicious behavior. Did he know of the animosity and what caused it?

"It's... a long story. But basically, before the Great Grox War, Seviros was... kind of a friend of the family. Although when I actually volunteered for military service, he was extra strict, not only to deny any favoritism, but also to make me more prepared." Virox explained. "After the war, when we were taken out of stasis... well, I might've ignored the chain of command from time to time, and use our connection to give information, ask for advice, stuff like that. Other High Generals didn't like it that much. They still don't. So yeah."

Now it made sense. He was kind of a politically connected individual. Shepard himself despised the practice of placing inexperienced people on higher positions because of friendships, connections, and money. It was clear why multiple High Generals had a distaste for Virox. However considering that Virox was merely a grunt, and that he basically had no other family left, it seemed a bit too harsh. Then again, Carvins weren't a sensitive bunch.

They left the compound and were about to head to the train station, but the Carvin that escorted them stopped them.

"We have a transport waiting for you." He said and pointed at the Carvin gunship standing on the landing pad near them. The gunship was indeed there. They quickly got in, and the pilot gently took off.

"So, I'm assuming that no combat for a while for you, Virox." Garrus, who stayed silent for so long finally said.

"Oh fuck no! I ain't going on any missions anytime soon." The Carvin protested.

"Well, our next stop is the Citadel, so no sweat." Shepard added.

"The first thing I'm gonna do, is to go to the nearest bar, buy a crap ton of booze and get myself drunk. Hopefully they have a good stash of ryncol, because I'm taking some back to the ship." Virox declared, mocking the official tone of the High Generals. "Grunt's hidden stash must be expanded."

"Touchdown in 10 seconds." The pilot said through the speakers.

Shepard was surprised how quickly the gunship managed to reach the port. There was something strange about it. Then again, he didn't have much time to contemplate over it. After all, the pilot managed to land outside of any landing pads, right next to Normandy's airlock.

As they stepped out, they saw a few Carvins leaving the Normandy, most notably the two little kids that Virox brought with him. They were waving goodbye to the crew who were still inside.

"Well, did you behave?" Virox asked them as they got closer.

"You don't trust us?" The older one asked.

"Yes." He simply replied.

"It was fine, uncle. Zia wanted to show off her biotics, but the human doctor stopped her." The smaller sibling said.

"Nalik! I specifically told you to shut up about it!" Zia looked at him angrily.

"Okay, I'll let that slide now. You two behave and don't die until the war is over." Virox said and patted them both on the heads. "I'm leaving now. See you soon."

"Bye!" They both shouted as they walked away.

"Well, Virox. You're actually becoming somehow responsible." Garrus teased him.

"Oh fuck you, Garrus! I still treat my own health with the same disregard as I did before." Virox joked and they both started laughing.

Shepard looked at this scene and realized how much of the old team was back together.

It almost felt like the old times.

 **Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Huerta Memorial Hospital**

It was the last routine check that she had to go through. The last one, before she could get out of this damn place. Not that there was much to do outside, but at least she'd be able to see something else than doctors in lab coats, giant needles, and medical equipment.

Ashley was anticipating her leave from the Huerta Memorial Hospital since she could actually stand on her feet without support, but the doctors could find an excuse for yet another check-up every time. However now this wasn't the case. She was impatiently awaiting Doctor Michel to finally let her out.

When her insides were already twitching to walk to the doctor herself, the door to her room has opened, revealing Doctor Michel herself.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Williams." She said with a strong accent. "I assume that you're ready for the last procedure."

"Hell yeah I am, doctor." Ashley replied sincerely. "I'm ready to get out of this place any second now... no offense."

"None taken." Dr. Michel smiled kindly and activated her omni-tool. "Please try to not move. This will only take a moment."

Ashley obeyed and tried to remain motionless as the scanner light passed her eyes. Now the verdict was the most important. There was no way she could be denied a leave now. She wouldn't stand it.

"Alright, everything checks out. You're the picture of health. Just try to avoid hitting your head for some time." Michel said.

"Thanks, doc. I really appreciate what you've done for me." Ashley said. "Maybe I could use my new Spectre status to pull some strings to get you some more supplies."

"It's okay for now. We're managing. But I wouldn't turn down help if you could provide it." Doctor replied.

"Okay, see you soon." Now legally free Ashley Williams almost skipped through the door and the scanner in the hallway. She managed to regain her professional look right before she entered the reception room. There were a few more people being tended to by the doctors than when she visited this place yesterday.

As she walked towards the door, she noticed that a strange Drell was observing her. Their eyes met for a moment, but one of the doctors walked between them, obstructing the view for a split second. When she was gone, the Drell was engaged in a conversation with another patient as if nothing happened.

"Weird." Ashley said out loud and stepped into the elevator. She was about to press the button 'Presidium', but at that moment her earpiece came to life. The sound indicated that it was a call from the Council.

"Lieutenant Commander Williams. This is Councilor Tevos. Citadel Council requests your immediate presence in the Citadel Tower." The voice echoed.

"I'm heading out now." She replied, and still pressed the 'Presidium' button. There was a cab station that could take her to the Citadel Tower fairly quickly.

The door opened, and Ashley finally felt the fresh air of the Presidium. Or as fresh as it could be on a giant space station. People were walking around, talking, laughing, joking. There was little to no tension that would seem to be a result of a galaxy-wide war, and that worried her. She witnessed first-hand what the Reapers are capable of, and the perspective of them coming to the completely unprepared Citadel wasn't a pleasant one.

It wasn't long until she reached the panel of the Citadel Transit. She was about to call the nearest cab, when suddenly the bushes near the cab moved. The light around it seemed... distorted. Ashley blinked a couple of times, to check if it wasn't her head acting up again. When she did, the illusion was gone.

'Maybe I really should've stayed in that hospital for a while. I'm starting to see things.' She thought and called the cab. A nearby skycar flew towards her and opened the door, revealing empty seats. Ashley wasn't surprised. Citadel Transit was fully automated, so it didn't need pilots. She selected 'Citadel Tower' on the panel and felt the vehicle slowly go up before speeding ahead.

Since the Presidium was near the Citadel Tower, the journey didn't take too long. In fact, not even a full minute passed when the skycar started to decelerate and prepare to land. Ashley's eagerness to get back to work slightly lost its charm as she was getting closer to the landing pad. The recent tricks that her brain was pulling off, and the fact that she was going to work with the Council again... usual them, completely disregarding the scale of the problem. They always were killjoys like that.

Her skycar finally landed, and she stepped out onto the landing pad. The few C-Sec guards that were on the platform saluted her as she went inside the Tower. The mood here was even more cheerful and oblivious to the war than the Presidium. It really started to get on her nerves.

Ashley did all she could to ignore the mood, and finally seeing the Councilors standing together on their pedestals helped her return to her formal attitude. What was strange though was that they were now talking with the Carvin ambassador, who was accompanied by two guards. If any other ambassador dared to pull something like that off, they would probably be expelled from the diplomatic and political community of the Citadel. But knowing from her various experiences with the Carvins, Ashley wasn't surprised that they were allowed to do so. Her greater concern was why the heck was he talking with the Council like that, and not from the bottom platform like she and Shepard used to. Also, Councilor Valern was missing from the Big Four.

"Lieutenant Commander Williams. You finally arrived." Councilor Tevos said from the upper platform. "Please come. We need to discuss something."

Okay. That was weird. First the Carvin ambassador, then her? Something big must've happened if the Council was so lenient towards the established customs. Nevertheless Ashley obeyed and climbed up to the platform. Councilor Sparatus was now engaged in a quiet, yet intense discussion with the Carvin ambassador.

"You do realize that if Cerberus has contacts and agents on the Citadel, they need to be dealt with swiftly and decisively." The latter said.

"We don't know who or if anyone is actually tied to Cerberus. If we start random purges in the administrative ranks, the public will not be happy." The former replied.

"What's going on?" Ashley interrupted, since she didn't quite know what was up.

"Apologies, Lieutenant Commander." Carvin ambassador bowed his head lightly, and extended his hand to her. "Zayan Te'Kraan. Ambassador of the Carvin Empire on the Citadel. Congratulations on your recent promotion."

"Thank you." Ashley shook the hand, a bit confused. Carvins weren't exactly very approachable from her own experiences, so she didn't expect such kindness.

"We should get back on track." Sparatus interrupted and turned towards Ashley. "Councilor Valern has apparently discovered some leads that there is a corruption network on the Citadel, and that it MIGHT be connected to Cerberus."

"Cerberus doesn't have the capacity nor the resources to conduct operations on such scale! It's probably a diversion effort to hinder our operations and efficiency. Distract us from the problems at hand." Udina let out angrily. "And those problems include a lack of any proper response from the Council to the fact that the homeworlds of its members are being attacked!"

"Councilor Udina..." Asari Councilor started but he cut her off.

"No! Earth is burning, while we stand here and talk about things that are completely insignificant compared to our current problems! Turians have recieved Krogan support, and it wasn't even the Council's call, but Shepard's! He's the only one in this damn Galaxy who actually takes it seriously!"

"Okay, I have to agree here." Ashley said. "But I think Cerberus can be very dangerous too if ignored. Remember, they had the resources to resurrect a dead person."

"My point exactly." Zayan joined in. "Cerberus is FULLY capable of hindering our response to the problems at hand. And we must remove or limit the power of anyone who is even remotely related to their activity."

"Is there anyone who we already suspect of illicit activity?" Ashley asked.

"Councilor Valern is paying a visit to the Executor at the moment. He said he wanted to verify his findings as well as find some more information." Councilor Tevos replied. "We could contact him at any moment."

"Then I suggest we do it." Ashley said.

Sparatus rolled his eyes and activated his omni-tool to establish the connection with the Executor's office. Meanwhile Zayan was talking to his guards, but strangely enough her translator could only pick up random words like 'Cerberus' 'Council' and 'Udina', while the rest remained unintelligible gibberish.

Ashley was about to check the news on her omni-tool, but then she heard a sharp snap. Her soldier instincts immediately recognized it as a broken stick. And it came from behind them. From the bushes near the Citadel Tower window. She immediately pulled out her trusty Predator and aimed at the general area she heard the noise from. Surprisingly, Zayan and his guards did exactly the same thing, but the rest of the Council was shocked.

"Who's that!?" Ashley shouted. "Come out, now!"

It was a few seconds of silence, when suddenly she saw a light distortion on her far left, dangerously close. She turned towards it sharply, and when it was almost at her face, a gunshot was heard, hitting the distortion right in the middle. The light started flickering around it, only to reveal a human-like figure, covered in a white-orange armor.

"Cerberus." She heard Zayan from behind and turned around to see smoke from the barrel of his pistol.

Then the lights of the room flickered, and suddenly multiple figures started to appear seemingly from thin air around the entire Tower.

"It's an ambush!" Ashley screamed and aimed at the bush that caused the sound, but now there was a Cerberus soldier, covered in black armor there. From the barrier sounds, followed by a robotic scream, she concluded that at least some of her shots hit their target.

"We need to get out of here!" Udina shouted as gunshots started to echo across the room. "Let's go!"

He tried to lead the other Councilors through one of the entrances that Council usually used to get on the platform. But then a grenade landed among them.

"Get down!" Ashley knocked down both Sparatus and Tevos to protect them from the blast.

*BOOM*

All three of the Councilors and she stood up, then Udina started to lead them to the door. Ashley looked back to see Zayan and two of his guards retreating in the opposite direction as more Cerberus troops started dropping down from the higher levels. She fired a couple more rounds to stall their advance, and ultimately they reached relative safety.

The door closed, giving them a breather for a moment.

"So it was Cerberus all along." Ashley let out between deep breaths.

"How did they even manage to get there without bypassing security?" Sparatus asked, still in disbelief.

"This is not important. We need to get out of here as fast as possible." Udina said. "Lieutenant Commander, I know how we can reach safety, but I need you to escort us there. C-Sec is probably in chaos, and you're the only one with enough experience and equipment to get us there."

"It would be my pleasure." Ashley replied instinctively. She got used to being all formal around Udina and the Council, so even in the chaos that just ensued, it stayed.

And the chaos was greater than she expected.

 **A/N: So, a nice little introduction to the Cerberus coup. I apologize for the length of the chapter and the lack of action overall. The next one will return to the fast-paced style that I usually use when I don't talk about politics.**

 **Also, important info: soon I'll be writing a chapter dedicated to Carvin Empire itself, the society and internal politics, as well as some culture and traditions, and how the Empire itself reacted to the Reaper War. Don't know when I'll do it, but just giving you a heads-up to expect it. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	12. Chaos on the Citadel

**A/N: I'm bacc. In blacc. On cracc. Okay, this is getting awkward. But yeah, because of the winter holiday I had, updating or even writing anything was very difficult. I hope you can still bear with me. Also, due to a load of ideas that came to my mind recently I have decided that the next chapter will be a special one. Like I stated previously, it will focus on how does Carvin Empire work, its administration, society, culture, etc. Please remember though, that I'm not a lawyer, or any kind of specialist on the subject. Just little me trying to portray it in the most believable way possible. So keep that in mind.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: Yeah, I felt like Virox getting drunk after all of this crap was a logical thing to do. I mean I would do the same. That is if I wasn't completely mentally shattered. And I'm glad you're excited for the special chapter too. Means a lot to me.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Serpent Nebula, Widow, Normandy Sr-2, Deck 5**

Virox was sitting in the hangar bay, digging through the armory and inspecting the different weapons that Shepard managed to get his hands on during his absence. Most of them he already recognized. The standard Avenger, the Predator pistol, Katana and Scimitar. Others were more exotic like N7 Typhoon, that to him was like the Thanix-powered LMG Carvin Empire started to produce recently. Abysmal fire rate, used for suppression or mowing down either big armored targets or hordes of weak husks. Either was fine. The N7 weapons in general were usually those he saw for the first time.

He would never admit it to anyone, but Virox, despite his already impressive arsenal (an assault rifle, a pistol, a shotgun and a LMG), was kind of a weapon geek and was looking to add something to his arsenal. It couldn't be anything though. Right now, he thought that maybe something classic from the bygone age could do. He would obviously modify it and adjust it to fit modern standards, but he wanted to feel some kind of antiquity in his hands. The obvious problem was, that on a technologically advanced vessel that was Normandy, in the middle of a war, when quality and top-shelf equipment was in highest demand, there was nothing that would fit his vision.

"Well shit." Virox groaned as he stepped away from the display. "I guess I'll have to wait until we dock. Maybe there will be some weapon collectors on the Citadel. Or vendors that sell antiquated equipment."

"What's the matter, Jaws?" James' voice came dangerously close from behind. "You've been digging through the entire armory looking for something for almost half an hour now. You lost something?"

"Surprisingly no. I'm looking for something to add to my arsenal." Virox replied.

"You're joking..." James eyed him up and down, and his disbelief was more than apparent. "You already carry four guns, one of them is even transformable into shotgun. What more do you want?"

"Another shotgun." Virox said without a second thought, and then realized that this was exactly what he was looking for. "Yes! Another shotgun! Jackpot!"

"Oh... so I guess you're an intellectual as well." James smirked as he realized they found some more common ground.

"Apparently yes. Everything about them feels so good. The kick, the close range, and the feeling when you land a sweet sweet meatshot on someone and they almost fly away from the punch these babies pack..." Virox fantasized, visualizing every aspect of the beauty of shotguns one by one.

"Hell yeah." James patted him firmly on the shoulder. "Luckily you've come to an expert. Follow me. Daddy James will find what you're looking for."

"You do realize that I'm over 400 years old, which makes me... assuming that you're 30 or younger... like 13 times older than you? So miss me with that Daddy title, Jimmy." Virox teased.

"Haha, oh you're good, Jaws. Now let's see if during my long time spent on researching weapons, I might've come across something you'll like." James said and took one of the datapads from his desk. "Alright, what specifically are you looking for?"

"Something classic. Antique even. These days everything can be modified to fit modern standards." Virox said.

"Well... in that case, the only knowledge I can provide is on human old-school, pump action shotguns. Haven't dug into other races' armory so far." James replied apologetically. "Sorry."

"I mean if it looks, feels and shoots good, I don't care where it comes from." Virox said sincerely.

"Alright then. Let's see..." James started scrolling down. "You wanna double or single barreled."

"I guess... single barreled can pack more shots before a reload."

"Okay... take a look at that Mossberg 500. Like it?" James asked. "It's short, pump-action-"

"Nope, too flashy." Virox immediately rejected.

"So it's a really big level of classic." James summed up.

"Hey, I was born when my people were shooting non-eezo ballistic weapons at guys who were shooting lasers at us." Virox defended himself. "If you'll manage to find something for me, I'll owe you a lot."

"Hmm... what about this F16 Jagdwaffen?" James displayed an image of a shotgun that was partially made of wood. It was almost good, but it felt too... elegant for him.

"A lot closer, but can you find me something more... raw? This looks like it was made for someone who owns a mansion on his own personal garden world and says sorry to everyone he shoots." Virox asked. (A/N: I'm sorry Canada XD)

"Well, in this case I can recommend only one shotgun. Let me just find it... here." James clicked on one of the pictures, then displayed it in full screen. "Remington 870, version with wooden stock and pump. Got nothing else that would fit your criteria."

Virox took his time to look at the weapon. The metal wasn't flashy. The wood was dark. Yet at its core it was still a bit too elegant for him. And too long. Maybe if he could...

"Is there a shorter version of this thing? Like without this obnoxiously long barrel? The stock seems useless too given my implants." He said.

"Uh... I mean they don't make these like that, but back in the 21st century... the human 21st century, some people would actually saw the barrel and the stock off the shotgun, just as you said, to make it more compact." James explained. "You could do that too if you want. But I don't know how much space for modifications you'll have left if you remove the-"

"Do you know where I can buy one of these?" Virox interrupted him. "I'm gonna get my hands on that thing one way or another, so you can either help me or don't get in my way."

"Geez, you really are crazy, man." James was startled by this sudden outburst. "I mean there is one human guy on the Citadel who claims to have guns for sale from virtually all periods of human gun making. Alternatively you can check on some markets organized by human refugees. They might have something too."

"Thanks man. Give me the address and I'll check that guy out once we dock." Virox nodded his head and James send the data through his omni-tool.

He was about to pack his stuff and prepare for some shopping, when suddenly the speakers in the hangar came to life.

"Attention, the Citadel is under attack from Cerberus troops! Announcing radio silence for private and non-critical communication devices!" EDI's voice echoed through the giant room. "Everyone prepare for potential combat! Lieutenant Cortez, prepare the shuttle for flight!"

"Understood!" The guy who was apparently named Cortez shouted across the room and went inside the shuttle to start the engines.

"What!?" Virox still couldn't believe. "They're attacking the Citadel!? Right when I was about to buy myself new guns!?"

It seemed all too convenient for him. He knew that Chakwas told him to rest and heal up after Qreten, but those assholes could kill the vendor that James recommended him. He wouldn't have any of that shit. Not even a drop of blood will come out of that vendor as long as he was alive.

Virox ignored the weird looks from James, and grabbed his gear, then without a second thought he jumped into the shuttle. Fuck doctor's opinion. Shepard was going to take him whether he liked it or not.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" The guy named Cortez asked from the cockpit. "Isn't Shepard usually choosing the team?"

"I don't give a single, even most insignificant fuck about it at the moment. I'm going down there. Period." Virox firmly declared. "You can pass the message to Shepard by the way, so he doesn't take too many people."

"Okay..." Cortez looked at him suspiciously. "Uh, Commander? Your Carvin friend said that he's going on this mission no matter what, and that you can consider him a part of the team already... Yes I told him that you usually choose the team... thank you, sir." He then turned towards Virox. "You can stay."

"I thought this was already established." Virox said in surprise.

"You... I... ugh. Nevermind." Cortez rolled his eyes and turned back to the shuttle controls.

Shortly after, Shepard came in the company of EDI. Both of them looked pretty serious about this and Virox figured that it would at least be appropriate to act like he was fully focused as well.

"You really shouldn't go on this mission, Virox. Chakwas specifically told you that you need to rest." Shepard said.

"I have some business on the Citadel, and going on this mission with you is the fastest way of getting there." Virox explained. "That being said, I have no intention of dying."

"Let's hope it's enough." Commander sighed.

Virox eyed EDI's new body. There was something strange about it. Like he had seen it before. But from what the crew had told him, she was the first AI to get that kind of body. It was supposedly taken from a Cerberus mech, right after Earth has fallen. Still, the feeling that he saw it before persisted and it got stronger.

"EDI, doesn't this new body of yours happens to have a sister that fights with the inter-species N7 wannabes?" He finally asked. "Because on Qreten I met an AI that looked awfully similar to you."

"The design of this body was sent to the Alliance, so they can produce more units for special forces and outfit specially designed AIs with them." EDI said. "It is likely that you have encountered one of them in the field."

"No offense, but aren't you kind of... y'know... illegal? The AIs I mean?" Virox asked.

"Under normal circumstances, such actions would be considered as a violation of the intergalactic law. However the Council has agreed to ignore it due to the current situation. The AIs that will partake in the war, will be granted amnesty on the condition that they will be peaceful." EDI explained.

"Uh huh." Virox nodded, pretty convinced, then turned towards Shepard. "So what's the plan?"

"The C-Sec Headquarters has been compromised. Without it, they cannot effectively organize a response. We recapture it and then proceed to assist with the liberation of the station." Shepard said.

"Cool. Let's do this." Virox said and pulled out his trusty modified CAR-26 rifle.

They were approaching the drop zone, going through some tight corridors of the station. After a moment, the landing zone was revealed, but it was heavily contested. Virox saw multiple C-Sec officers desperately trying to reach the door of the HQ, but Cerberus had them caught in a crossfire. They were falling one by one.

For some odd reason, this felt familiar to him. He hated C-Sec and their ignorance in the past, but this just made him feel pity for them. And then it hit him.

It was like on Qreten, just the other way around. Desperation, knowing that your objective is impossible to complete, yet the fate of millions depends on it. Virox knew the feeling.

CRACK*

And it made him furious.

"Okay, people! We're coming in hot! Get to cover!" Shepard yelled and all three of them jumped off the shuttle, to join the fight.

Virox saw the last C-Sec officers fall to the ground. He decided to clear out the catwalk on the right side. Without any cover or support, he dashed to cover at incredible speed and peaked out at the outflanked Cerberus soldiers.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Three shots, perfectly calculated, right in the head. He was about to move forward, when a revving sound stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a Cerberus sentry, right in the middle of the room.

"EDI, fry this junk!" He yelled.

"Affirmative!" She shouted back and a second after that, the sentry was hit with a colossal electric load, effectively dropping its shields.

This gave Virox a perfect opportunity. Since the sentry was now focused on EDI, he pulled out a grenade, and ignoring the advancing Cerberus troops, he pressed the button and tossed the ball of destruction. He didn't bother to look at its effects and switched to his trusty revolver.

A Cerberus guardian tried to approach him with his shield up, but Virox landed a shot perfectly through the hole for view. Then, dashing with incredible speed, he switched to his Void shotgun and fired one shot at the nearby Centurion. The molten metal annihilated the poor guy's shields, frontal armor, and parts of flesh.

In the meantime, Shepard was charging from one soldier to another, packing a shot after every charge, then going to another one. That way, Cerberus troops were confused as to where to shoot. Combined with the fact that when EDI incinerated one of the soldiers, and Shepard charged at him, the explosion was enormous.

There were only a few troopers left. One of them tried to take cover by the entrance, but Virox was having none of that. He fired his grappling hook at the fleeing soldier. Once he felt the line tighten, he activated the mechanism to retract the hook. The bastard was heavy, but it wasn't anything above his capabilities. He activated his omni-blade on the same arm, and the Cerberus trooper was left with a giant red-hot blade sticking from his chest.

But the most unfortunate fate awaited the last soldier. He somehow managed to survive in the middle catwalk, but that was about to change, as EDI, using her brand new body, appeared next to him at lightning speed, delivered a nasty hook to his chin, and punched him off the platform screaming.

Silence fell on the platform, but was quickly ended by groans coming from the general area of the C-Sec HQ doors.

"Shepard..." It was Commander Bailey, leaning against the wall. He was clearly wounded. "I saw those Cerberus troops on you. I thought you were done for..."

"Bailey? What are you doing here?" Shepard asked, surprised to see him.

"Getting my ass shot off trying to retake headquarters. Cerberus took it in the first push." Bailey said. "We gotta kick them out of there. Everyone is running blind without the network."

"Well, too bad for them, because we're gonna add some more corpses to the pile when we get there." Virox said cheerfully, as he snapped back to his usual laid back personality. "These guys won't know what hit 'em."

"Would be a nice change I admit." Bailey nodded, and stood up with Shepard's help.

"What's the status of the Councilors? Is the situation as critical everywhere?" EDI asked.

"They split up. I'll know more if I can access a terminal inside." Bailey replied.

"Can you get us in?" Shepard asked.

"I'll get the door. If no one interrupts me with a bullet this time..." Bailey said, half-joking.

"Would be a shame." Virox added, and the door opened shortly after.

All three of them walked slowly in a wedge formation, with Bailey right behind them. They walked up the stairs, and saw what appeared to be something similar to a reception desk. Bailey sat on the chair behind the desk and opened up the terminal.

"Here we go... C-Sec network access. Courtesy of Cerberus." He said with a pinch of satisfaction in his voice.

"How's that gonna help?" Shepard asked, still keeping eyes on the hallway left of the reception desk.

"Cerberus has control over the main channels, but I can set up a new one. Without it our people will have no plan and no chance." Bailey explained, then opened his eyes a bit wider. "Oh hello."

"What have you got?" Shepard signaled Virox to take his place and walked to Bailey's side.

"A warning from Councilor Valern. He's supposed to be here, meeting with the Executor." C-Sec commander said and read. "'Be on your guard. The likelihood of betrayal from withing is high...'. Not a lot else. But if he's inside..."

"Well, one councilor is better than zero. Where am I headed?" Shepard asked, stepping away from the desk.

"The Executor's office is defensible. He may have gone to ground there when the shooting started." Bailey replied.

"I'm on it." Shepard said and signaled the rest of the team to follow him, but Bailey stopped them.

"Just a sec!" He exclaimed and clicked a few buttons on his omni-tool. "There. Now we can talk by omni-tool. Go!"

Shepard nodded and all three of them headed towards the coordinates given to them by Bailey.

"Thane, did you hear all that?" Commander asked as they ran through the hallways.

"Yes. I'm nearing the building, but running is difficult. I'll try to get to you." Thane replied, his tone clearly suggesting exhaustion.

They slowly entered a new room. A lot more open than the previous one. However what concerned them the most were two Cerberus soldiers standing on the opposite side of the room, guarding a door.

"Take them down." Shepard ordered.

Not a second passed before two troopers were lying on the ground, with their helmets ruptured.

"Contact!" A robotic shout came from the left.

Shepard dashed to cover, and both EDI and Virox did the same. They were now facing little less than a dozen soldiers, with a few Guardians and an Engineer amongst them.

"Shit, it's Shepard!" One of them screamed. He was quickly dispatched by Virox though, making the rest seek cover.

"Sentry operational." Cerberus Engineer said from the rear.

To emphasize on that fact, the sentry aimed at Virox and unleashed a deadly barrage, forcing him back into cover.

"Whoa! They really don't want us here!" Virox said, while trying to peak out without getting his head blown off.

"EDI, prepare to overload the sentry's shields! I'll flank it! Virox, try to keep it occupied!" Shepard ordered and rose his hand, waiting for the right moment.

The sentry was still laying down suppressing fire, but even with the advanced cooling technology, it had to stop at some point, to prevent overheating. And when the gun fell silent, Shepard closed his hands into a fist, giving the signal to attack.

Cerberus would never know what hit them.

 **Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Presidium, Upper class restaurant district**

Another Cerberus trooper fell down onto the floor with a hole in his head. Zayan, calmly yet decisively stepped over the corpse, followed by his two bodyguards.

Contrary to popular belief, Carvin ambassador wasn't any less capable of fighting off enemies than an average soldier. In fact, many of the important officials would be given an opportunity to go through a special self-defense training to aid them in situations like this.

"The traitor must've had a lot of influence on the Citadel to have Cerberus attack so quickly." Zayan said to himself. "That or C-Sec really is as incompetent as I feared."

They walked along the path of destruction made by Cerberus, hoping to find their target. As they passed around the tables of a ravaged restaurant, one of the guards placed his finger on his earpiece and froze.

"Sir! I'm picking up a lot of chatter on the C-Sec network!" He said.

"What? Cerberus doesn't need to use the lightly protected C-Sec comms... why would they-" Zayan asked, but then stopped mid-sentence, realizing what was happening. "Patch me through."

"Yes sir." The guard nodded and clicked his earpiece.

There was some static for a moment, before the receiver had adjusted to the right frequency.

"This is a C-Sec channel, identify yourself." A human voice echoed from the other side, one that all three of them quickly recognized.

"Ambassador Zayan Te'Kraan." Zayan replied truthfully.

"Ambassador? Are you alright? Is the Council alive?" Bailey asked, distress clearly apparent in his voice.

"Unknown. We got separated. Cerberus reached as far as into the Citadel Tower. I'm trying my best to stay alive and kill as many of these bastards as possible." Zayan said.

"That's good. I'm reorganizing C-Sec everywhere to give them a chance at pushing Cerberus back. I can send a few squads to escort you to safety." Bailey proposed.

"Belay that! They're needed elsewhere! We'll manage. We're going to try and find the Salarian Councilor." Zayan replied.

"Actually, we're already on it too. Shepard appeared seemingly out of nowhere and retook part of the C-Sec HQ by himself. He's now heading towards the probable hiding spot of the Councilor." Bailey said.

"Shepard is here?" Zayan asked in disbelief. That guy was amazing at getting involved and saving the day in the most dire of situations. "Where is he headed exactly?"

"The Executor's office. It's likely the Councilor's hiding there." Bailey replied.

Zayan looked at one of his guards and he immediately understood. He activated his omni-tool and displayed a map of the Citadel, which then closed on the Presidium area. The dots representing their current location as well as the Executor's office weren't exactly far away.

"Inform Shepard we're heading there too. Just so we don't start shooting at eachother." He finally said.

"You do realize that you'll be storming an easily defensible facility with little to no protection, ambassador? I can still try to redirect some C-Sec forces to you." Bailey wasn't convinced.

"It's fine. We'll manage ourselves. You focus on organizing an effective response against the Cerberus. And keep us updated, especially about the Council." Zayan ordered.

"Alright. Good luck, ambassador." Bailey said and disconnected.

The three Carvins were already advancing quickly through the streets of Presidium. Fortunately Citadel was built in such a way that maximized efficiency, so narrow and twisted alleys and streets were uncommon. However this also meant that Cerberus had the same luxury. Thanks to this efficiency-focused design, they could move virtually unhindered by any physical boundaries, as the C-Sec response was chaotic and ineffective. Zayan and his bodyguards had to move fast.

After a moment, Zayan heard screams coming from far ahead. He didn't slow down, but signaled his bodyguards to stay low. The screaming continued and they finally saw the source. A young human woman was being pulled by a Cerberus trooper. After they left their line of sight, Zayan quietly ran through the street, following the continuous sound of screams. But those suddenly felt silent, as if someone gagged the woman.

"She's suitable." A robotic voice came, presumably from the Cerberus trooper that Zayan had seen earlier.

Zayan himself, peaked across the corner, only to see an entire Cerberus shuttle landed on a surprisingly large open space. Next to it was at least half a dozen troopers, with a number of human civilians gagged and lined up by a nearby wall.

"Let me check..." Cerberus Centurion approached the captured woman and scanned her with his omni-tool. "Yes. A perfect Nemesis candidate."

"Sir, we don't have enough space on the shuttle to transport all of them." Another trooper said.

"Terminate the candidates with the lowest potential." Centurion replied. "The rest of you, prepare to move out."

One of the Cerberus troopers walked up to the gagged civilians, and looked at one human man, who was clearly the oldest one from the entire group. He then drew his pistol, which caused the man to scream through the gag he had in his mouth. Zayan watched as Cerberus trooper pointed the pistol at the man, and said one simple word.

"Go."

From that moment onward, everything happened lightning fast. Zayan jumped out of cover and landed a shot in the back of the head, of the Cerberus executioner. His friends, startled by this ambush, tried to respond, but before any of them even raised their weapons, three of them were already dead. Bodyguards had a steady aim, no matter the situation.

Cerberus Centurion, the first one to recover, fired a couple of shots at Zayan's direction, but despite most of the shots hitting their mark, the shield held firmly. Zayan turned towards him and dashed forward. He knocked the rifle out of Centurions hand, delivered another blow at his stomach, then grabbed his head with one hand, and punched him in the head four times, his cybernetic fist, rapidly extending and retracting for maximum effect.

It all seemed to be over, but then the noise started to come from the shuttle.

'The pilot.' Zayan cursed himself for overlooking that, and not even waiting for his bodyguards, he ran inside the shuttle. In the cockpit, there were indeed two pilots, warming the engines for a take-off. In a lightning-quick maneuver, Zayan stabbed the pilot on the right with his left hand knuckle blades, and shot the other guy two times with his pistol in the other hand. Now all the Cerberus soldiers were dead.

As he left the shuttle, his two bodyguards already began to liberate the captured civilians, removing the gags and breaking the cuffs. After a few seconds everyone was free.

"Thank you... I honestly can't express my gratitude. If not for you..." The older man started, his eyes filling with tears.

"They were saying something about... recruitment. But wherever they were going to take us, you spared us that fate." One of the women said. "If there's any way we could repay you..."

"Stay low for now. And when everything is over, volunteer to aid the war effort. You can work at the hospitals, security, docks. I don't care. Just do something useful." Zayan interrupted and signaled his bodyguards to follow him as he started to walk away. "The Citadel must finally wake up."

With these words he left them alone, still recovering from shock.

"We're closing in on our objective, sir. Our distance to the Executor's office is approximately 1,5 kilometers in a straight line." One of the guards said.

"Good. Let's hope that Shepard isn't too far ahead of us." Zayan nodded and doubled the pace.

 **Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Presidium, C-Sec Headquarters mess hall**

The resistance across the C-Sec HQ was surprisingly limited, which greatly worried Shepard. If Cerberus only left such token forces inside, it would suggest they'd already completed their main objective in this area. Still, they had to check it.

"Hold up, Shep. I can hear something behind this door." Virox whispered, and his words were immediately confirmed by a gunshot from the other side.

"Cover the door. Don't engage until they see us." Shepard ordered.

EDI took position on the right side of the door, while Virox secured the left side. Shepard clicked the button on the door, and the slides opened. Behind them there was a long hallway, with two Cerberus soldiers, standing over a corpse of a C-Sec officer.

"You sure we had to do that? Without him we'd never had gotten in." The one on the left said. However his voice was a bit higher-pitched, and less robotic, even if it was just a little bit.

"Direct orders. He stopped being useful." His companion replied, this time in a proper robotic voice, common for Cerberus troops.

The difference in tone of both of the soldiers surprised Shepard. It would indicate that either Cerberus gradually augmented their soldiers with Reaper tech, which presented some chance for them, or that the augmentations took a while to take full effect. However he didn't have time to contemplate on it.

"Fry them, EDI." He said. The AI nodded and fired a burning projectile from her omni-tool. It hit the soldier on the left, though the explosion also impacted his friend. Shepard used this opportunity to charge at him. The explosion that resulted from this, finished the job.

They moved through the corridor and entered into what seemed to be a mess hall for C-Sec employees. Given the general damage of the area, it was clear that a significant number of Cerberus troops must've passed through here.

"We've gotta be close now." Shepard said, as he looked around the place.

"There's damage here, we may be too late." EDI said.

"If the lizard is as smart as the rest of his people, he'd probably hide pretty well. I bet he's around here somewhere." Virox replied.

While walking through the kitchen, they collected some credits and medi-gel from the station inside the kitchen, and suddenly heard a message from the speakers of the nearby screen.

"This is Khalisah al-Jilani, live from the Presidium, uploading from the back of the Westerlund News van. The gunfire behind me is C-Sec trying to retake Central Communications Hub. Without it they can't get a signal for help off the station. There's no word why C-Sec reinforcements have not shown. We're looping this transmission in hope it gets through. C-Sec forces are urgently needed at the comm towers."

'She's actually doing something good for a change.' Shepard thought, still remembering the hostile attitude the reporter has been showing towards him over the years. He was glad that she changed for the better.

They left the kitchen and started walking towards the staircase that led to Executor's office, but suddenly the windows above them started to explode.

"Watch out!" Virox shouted and pulled Shepard behind cover, as the broken glass shards started to bounce off the ground.

Cerberus soldiers revealed themselves as the smoke cleared out. Some of them started to jump down, while others stayed to provide covering fire.

"Keep the shooters on the high ground busy! I'll take out the ones who dropped down!" Shepard ordered and not waiting for a response, he jumped out of cover, charged at the nearest soldier and packed a shot into his torso as the body flew away. Then, he saw one of the troopers taking cover behind a wall. Without a second thought, he used his Pull to get him out into the open, then charged again. The biotic explosion that resulted from this instantly killed the guy. Meanwhile Virox and EDI were effectively dropping down the Cerberus shooters above. Quite literally 'dropping' as many of them would fall down to their level after being shot, sealing their fate.

Soon, the entire area was cleared out, and they walked up the staircase as they originally intended. Finally they stood in front of the door to the Executor's office. This time Shepard took position on the right, with EDI taking the left. Virox approached the door and slammed the 'open' button, letting them in... into the empty room.

Well, it wasn't fully empty. The Executor himself was lying on his desk, with multiple shot wounds in his chest. In front of the desk there were also two Salarians, both of which left green stains of blood on the ground. Their armor suggested military affiliation.

"Bailey, looks like they got the Executor, and two Salarian bodyguards." Shepard said into his omni-tool.

"Damn. Keep looking. If you don't see the Councilor's body, don't count him out yet." Bailey replied from the other side. "Carvin Ambassador is close. He'll assist you in a moment."

Virox went to inspect the Executor's desk, while EDI leaned in front of the window, obviously observing something. Shepard joined her and quickly saw what she saw. One of the chairs in the mess hall they passed through before had now rolled out from under the table, and the light around that area was suddenly distorted for a moment, before revealing a slim silhouette of the Salarian Councilor.

"Found him. He looks unharmed." Shepard said.

"Get him somewhere safe!" Bailey almost shouted, indicating that he took his job very seriously.

Shepard signaled Virox and EDI to get down to the lower level, but then his ears picked up some noise from downstairs. He sharply turned back to the window and saw a black figure that appeared seemingly out of nowhere now approaching the Councilor.

Without a second thought, he pulled out his N7 Eagle and blasted the window in front of him, then jumped over 5 meters down to reach the Councilor. The black figure jumped unnaturally high and landed behind the Councilor, putting him between himself and Shepard. His hand started to glow orange.

"Don't even think about it!" Shepard said sharply, trying to maneuver around the Councilor to have a better shot.

"Shepard, he's going to kill us all!" Valern whispered in panic.

"That remains to be seen." Shepard remained cold-blooded.

"I mean Udina. He's staging a coup. He's got the other Councilors now, to hand over to Cerberus." Councilor clarified still whispering and trying to avoid sudden moves.

So it was Udina who was the traitor. Despite his reaction (or lack thereof), this news surprised Shepard. He did suspect Udina before, but this was beyond anything he ever imagined. Still he had to focus now, as Virox and EDI rejoined him.

"Three on one, pal. It's over." He said.

"No." Assassin replied with a low voice full of confidence. "Now it's fun."

"Actually, it will be fun with your brains all over the place." Virox corrected. "So don't spoil the fun and don't resist."

Shepard was wondering why the heck would Virox joke around in a time like this, until he saw a familiar green-skinned figure behind the assassin. He was about to join in on distracting him, but it wasn't needed, as Thane was already pointing his pistol at the assassin's head. The latter, realizing he had been outplayed, twisted his lips in an angry grimace.

Before Shepard could cope with what was happening, the two engaged eachother in a vicious hand-to-hand combat. Trying to make use of the distraction, he got Councilor Valern away from the fight, as the assassin threw Thane onto the ground. His Drell friend used the momentum to roll and reduce the damage, then fired two shots where the assassin was standing a moment ago.

"He's cloaked! Watch out!" Virox growled as his eyes started to violently twitch, trying to cover as much space as possible. The rest followed suit, while staying around the Salarian Councilor to keep him safe.

The assassin revealed himself again, behind a row of desks. Thane began to shoot him, but the shots either missed or hit the surprisingly durable barrier. Both charged at eachother, but Thane had clearly outperformed his opponent, as he delivered two kicks into the assassin's chest and face, then used his biotics to punch him back. It would appear the fight was over, as Thane punched a thermal clip out of his pistol and aimed it at the motionless body, but the assassin recovered dangerously quickly and jumped back onto his feet, ready for combat once again. The two charged at eachother once again, with Thane firing at the assassin, who shot something out of his hand.

Time slowed down for Shepard. He saw Thane's barrier crack, and realized what the assassin was about to do. He wanted to scream, to charge and prevent it from happening, yet the time affected everyone, himself included.

But suddenly something entered Shepard's line of sight. This time from... above?

A blurred black and green silhouette literally crashed down onto the charging duo, knocking them both back. After a closer inspection, Shepard recognized the unique physical build of the Carvins. However this particular Carvin was not equipped with any combat gear. His appearance was almost of a civilian. And he kind of looked familiar.

"Protect the Councilor!" The Carvin said, and turned back towards the assassin.

"Yes, ambassador." Another voice came from behind them. Shepard turned around to see two other Carvins, both looking like military professionals. They took position in front of Councilor Valern, blocking any potential attacks. Must've been his bodyguards... which meant that this was the Carvin ambassador, Zayan Te'Kraan.

In the meantime, the assassin dashed towards the ambassador with his sword out. Zayan caught it mid-air with his cybernetic hand and delivered a nasty hook with his other hand. But instead of flying away, the assassin used the momentum given to him by the punch. Because the Carvin was still holding his sword, he spun around and landed on his back. That certainly irritated Zayan, who grabbed him by his legs and slammed into the ground. Before he could finish the job however, the assassin kicked him in the face and quickly stood up. Both of them started to move extremely fast, almost unnaturally. Every hit from the assassin was either deflected or blocked by the ambassador.

Finally the assassin seemed to have enough. He pulled out his sword again and started to attack more ferociously. Zayan held his ground, although he was clearly having difficulties. The assassin delivered a punch to Zayan's face, knocking him off balance. He used this opportunity to try and land a perfect stab in the chest. It seemed as it was inevitable, but then, Zayan's body suddenly turned sharply to the right, resulting in the blade only grazing the ambassador's chest, although still pretty severely.

Zayan looked at his chest for half a second, then turned back towards the assassin and delivered an incredibly brutal punch to the chest, which sent the assassin flying. But as the Cerberus operative hit the wall on the other side of the room, Zayan knelt down on one knee and grabbed his wounded chest.

"Grrrr! That bastard!" He growled almost like an animal, but upon seeing the assassin recovering and escaping, he looked at Shepard. "What are you waiting for!? Get him!"

This snapped Shepard back into reality and he sprinted towards the stairs to catch up with the assassin. He tried to fire his pistol on the move, with limited effect, as N7 Eagle wasn't exactly a pistol built specifically for precision. The assassin ran towards a landing zone outside the HQ, and to Shepard's surprise, jumped off the platform. However, just a few seconds later, he reappeared on top of a blue skycar and started to fly away.

Shepard still tried to shoot him down, however without any effect. But he also heard gunshots from behind, so he turned around to see Zayan, leaning on the wall, still trying to shoot down the skycar.

"Ambassador!" Shepard ran up to him.

"I'm fine. I magnetically locked my leg to the ground and spun my body around. Thank the Creator for these cybernetics." Zayan replied, though he was still panting heavily.

"Shepard, what's going on down there?" Bailey's voice came from his earpiece.

"Ambassador is wounded, but he claims to be alright. I need to take care of an assassin." Shepard said and turned back towards the skycars and gunships flying above the Presidium.

"He must be going after the rest of the Council." Bailey suggested.

"Get the word out. Udina is trying to seize power. I've got to get to the Councilors." Shepard said and walked up to a nearby skycar. It was a police model. Not anything super fast, but at least above average.

"They're being taken to a shuttle pad near the Presidium." Bailey informed. "Start driving. I'll try to raise them on the comm."

Virox and EDI finally caught up and all three of them took a seat inside the skycar. Shepard looked at the Carvin ambassador, but he shook his head.

"There's no space for us. Go. We'll try to catch up with you once we secure Councilor Valern." He said as he applied medi-gel to his wounded chest.

Shepard nodded and closed the doors. The skycar slowly took off the ground and went flying towards the coordinates that Bailey sent them.

Hopefully they reach the Council before the assassin does.

 **Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Presidium, Upper class district, near the Shalmar Plaza**

Ashley's heart was beating as hard as it did on Eden Prime. But this time it wasn't because she was fighting for her life. This time the pressure was because the lives of the Council rested on her shoulders. Only her shoulders.

Other guards that joined them before had died, but Udina told her to stay sharp, as they had to get off the station as quickly as possible. It helped her a bit, knowing that the Councilors believed in her ability to defend them, but the pressure was still undeniable.

"We're almost there." She whispered, while they walked through the hallway. "But we'll need to move through some open space for a moment. So let's stick together and stay low."

"Truly a professional." Udina complimented, which caused the other two Councilors to roll their eyes.

To be honest, Ashley didn't really know what to think of this sudden wave of praise from Udina. It started back in the hospital where he gave her an offer to become a Spectre and continued ever since. What was also weird was the completely positive attitude. Comparing Udina's approach to Shepard and herself, there was a significant difference. She didn't do as much as he did, yet Udina was praising her more.

'Focus. We need to get off the station.' She mentally scolded herself.

The last, and easily the most dangerous part of their journey to the location given to her by Udina was going through the Shalmar Plaza, a giant open space with balconies and walkways, which provided little to no cover from heavy weapons. And because Cerberus knew they were somewhere in the Presidium, most of the gunships and shuttles were flying around this area. This was going to be hard.

She opened the door that led to the plaza, checking every corner, every bench, every bush, for any hostiles. It seemed clear for now. She signaled the Councilors to rejoin her, and once they did, she moved forward, still checking everything. They repeated the maneuver a few times, but their luck was bound to run out at some point.

Ashley made sure that the Councilors were safely sticking behind cover, and was ready to move. She darted out of cover, only to bump into a Cerberus Centurion.

"What the..." They both asked in a perfect unison, then looked at eachother closely.

"Contac-ARGH!" Centurion tried to shout, but was cut off by a bullet in the head. Ashley purposefully stuck it closely to his face to bypass the shields that she already learned were pretty annoying to deal with.

"It's the Council!" Another robotic voice came from ahead. Ashley looked in the direction of the source, to see three additional Cerberus troopers.

"Shit!" She mumbled through her gritted teeth, and dashed behind jumped behind a nearest wall.

Her puny Carnifex pistol was less than ideal for an open combat, especially considering Cerberus rifles and submachine guns, but she had to get through it with it. To get herself an element of surprise, she activated the injection of 'Marksman' battle amplifiers, then in order to distract Cerberus troops, she threw a grenade at them. The moment she heard the scream "Grenade!", she peaked out and thanks to her temporarily enhanced reflexes, she managed to land two clean headshots before the effect of the amplifiers died down. She finished the last guy by firing two shots to the chest. At least Carnifex packed a serious punch/

"Clear! Let's go!" She shouted to the Councilors and watched if anyone was behind them.

All three Councilors ran towards her, trying to keep as low profile as possible.

"To the elevator! We're almost there!" Udina urged as they entered a moderately covered building, with multiple elevator doors.

"Inside. Go, go!" Ashley added, when suddenly she heard footsteps behind them.

"Take them down!" The easily recognizable voice of Cerberus troops came from behind. She turned around to see multiple Cerberus soldiers making their way towards them. With a slam of a fist, she started closing the door, still laying down fire as the doors closed.

"Well... that was close." She whizzed, while panting from stress and exhaustion.

"We're almost there. The elevator will take us right to the shuttle pad." Udina said. "I've got an Alliance military shuttle waiting for us. There should be no problem afterwards."

The ride with the elevator was going surprisingly smoothly. No noise, no shaking or shots banging against the walls. It almost felt suspicious. To kill time Ashley tried to contact C-Sec on her omni-tool, but all she got was static.

One moment, the entire elevator was shaken a little bit, which startled the Councilors, but it appeared to have been a shockwave of some sort, nothing directly tied to the elevator's systems.

The numbers on the elevator's display have been rapidly changing, steadily getting closer to their destination. But as they were about to reach the shuttle pad, suddenly a noise came from above, as if someone was outside, standing on the elevator.

"What was that?" Asari Councilor asked in fear.

"Gunmen! Get down!" Ashley shouted and pointed her pistol at the ceiling, rapidly shooting the places where she suspected the enemy was. "Go!"

Thankfully the elevator stopped, and Udina opened the door, letting them out and leading them towards the landing zone. Ashley stayed behind to stop any potential attacker, but swiftly rejoined the Councilors when they reached the landing pad.

But to her shock, where the Alliance shuttle was waiting for them, there was a smoking wreck of what was supposed to be their transport.

"Damn it! Cerberus got the shuttle. Everyone back to the elevator!" She ordered, although when she turned around, the shock from the destroyed shuttle was immediately overshadowed by what was happening before her.

In front of her stood Shepard, with his gun drawn, a Carvin and a human-like mech or android. The latter quickly activated her omni-tool and slammed her fist into the control panel of the door, effectively sealing them out. Meanwhile, Shepard eyed everyone and focused his eyes on Udina, then rose his gun.

"Shepard...?" This was all Ashley could say at the moment, being shocked twice in such a short period of time.

"Shepard is blocking our escape! He's with Cerberus!" Udina said, his voice having a slight tone of fear and anger.

These words felt like a taser. Ashley talked with Shepard before, and they established that he was not with Cerberus anymore. But right now... in this situation... it was really hard for her to believe that. After all, what reason would he have to seal them out and threaten the Council?

"Everybody hang on!" She ordered, but it felt more like an order to her own emotions. "Shepard, what's happening here?"

Shepard still held his pistol pointed at Udina, and as a result, at her too. But she knew that face. She had seen it many times. During the fight with Matriarch Benezia, while trying to talk down Wrex from helping Saren cure the genophare, and even on Horizon, during their all too familiar standoff. This pain and hesitation, mixed with cold-blooded determination and decisiveness.

"You know me better than this, Ash." He replied, which yet again resulted in another conflict within her own head.

"I know the OLD Shepard, before Cerberus! Right now I'm not sure who I'm dealing with." She gritted her teeth, yet at the same time letting all the doubts and fears about him to come out.

She expected him to argue. To try and convince her, like he would before. To prove his innocence, which was so often opposite of a reassurance.

But he didn't.

Instead he lowered his gun, and ordered his two companions to do the same, although the Carvin growled.

"We don't have time to negotiate!" He stated, and yet again she recognized the tone, which also confused her even more. He was afraid too, even if he also showed determination. "You've been fooled! All of you! Udina is behind this attack! The Salarian Councilor confirmed it."

"Oh please." Udina snarled like he did so often. "You have no proof. You never do."

That didn't do anything to reassure Ashley. She knew that Shepard wouldn't do anything like that if he wasn't fully convinced that it was necessary. And having no proof didn't exactly mean being wrong, especially with Shepard involved.

"There were Cerberus soldiers in the elevator shaft behind us. If you open that door, they'll kill you all." Shepard said and pointed at the door they just sabotaged.

"We mistrusted Shepard before, and it did not help us." Asari Councilor added.

Well, if she out of all of them agreed with Shepard, then there was something very seriously going on.

'If Sparatus approves this, I'm gonna go crazy.' Ashley thought, with the confusion and fear rapidly growing in her mind. She didn't know who to believe anymore.

"We don't have time to debate this! We're dead if we stay out here." Udina snapped and walked up to the terminal. "I'm overriding the lock."

Shepard took a few steps forward, while tracking Udina with his pistol. His two colleagues did the same. Ashley instinctively walked in between them and wanted to press the trigger for a warning shot, but the overwhelming doubt froze her fingers in place. There were so many unknowns. She was supposed to protect the Council, yet she was more lost than they were.

And then she looked at Shepard, and realized something. He'd never pushed her away. He never wished her badly. Hell, he sacrificed Kaidan to save HER. It was she who doubted and tried to detach from him. She felt like he betrayed the Alliance, but did he really? Sure, Cerberus were assholes, but with their help he might've saved humanity by destroying the Collectors. And he defected them instantly once he'd seen through the Illusive Man. Why would he lie now?

"I'm gonna regret this." Ashley sighed, as her entire world went crashing down, and she turned towards Udina.

"No. You're not." Shepard said, as she rose her gun once again.

"Udina, step back from the console!" She demanded, trying to sound as authoritarian and decisive as possible. The Human Councilor looked at her for a moment, his eyes revealing outrage and fear.

"To hell with this!" He yelled and started clicking the buttons on the terminal. Immediately the red circle on the door changed to orange.

However surprisingly, out of all the people present, Councilor Tevos approached him and grabbed his hand, trying to stop him. Udina immediately reacted, by shoving her away so strongly she fell to the ground. Before she could stand up however, he pulled out a gun and pointed at her chest.

"Gun!" Ashley shouted, even though everyone had seen it. But no one reacted. Shepard was conflicted, so were his companions, and Councilor Sparatus didn't have any weapons.

'Protect the Council!' This simple order flashed in Ashley's head for a split second. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, as the trigger of her gun clicked.

*BANG*

...

...

...

When she opened her eyes, Udina was lying dead on the ground, with a huge red hole in his chest. Sparatus was helping Tevos get up on her feet, Shepard and his friends lowered their weapons, and Ashley suddenly felt like her entire leftover strength was drained from her body in an instant. She approached the body, breathing heavily.

"Son of a bitch..." She sighed, trying to regain composure.

But before she could, a lot of noise came from behind her. She sharply turned around, to see sparks coming from the door, as if someone was trying to cut their way inside.

"The door!" Sparatus shouted, and everyone else followed suit, pointing guns at the cut that had almost reached the top.

"Come on! I dare ya! I double fucking dare ya! I'll blow your brains out!" Shepard's Carvin friend growled and switched from his rifle to a much shorter gun that Ashley didn't recognize.

As the cut was completed, the two slides of the door retracted, revealing...

"Bailey?" Shepard was clearly as surprised as everyone here to see the C-Sec commander, along with another human officer pointing guns at them. Both sides quickly lowered their weapons.

"Made it as fast as we could, Shepard." Bailey said. "Looks like you... uh... took care of things."

"Something's not right." Asari Councilor interrupted. "You said Cerberus was targeting us. Where did their soldiers go?"

"That's a very good question!" Another voice came from behind them.

Everyone turned around, and saw a C-Sec skycar levitating in front of them. The door was open, and three Carvins stepped away.

"Ambassador Te'Kraan?" Ashley immediately recognized the leading Carvin. "You've made it here?"

"Yes. When we got separated, we were shooting our way through, when suddenly I pick up C-Sec chatter, and before you know it, I happened to have assisted Shepard with saving Councilor Valern." Zayan replied, then turned towards the Commander himself. "Oh and by the way, I might've injured your Drell friend when I dropped down from that window, but he'll be alright. We patched him up as much as we could, and he should live."

"I appreciate it." Shepard nodded in a gesture of gratitude.

"What happened to your chest, ambassador?" Councilor Sparatus asked.

"Oh that?" Zayan looked at his bandaged chest. "Well, that's just a side effect of saving Councilor Valern. A Cerberus assassin tried to stab me, but I got away with much less, as you can see." He chuckled there for a moment. "And as for Cerberus, well we've seen them retreating all across the station as we were heading towards you."

"Yeah. They were right by the door, but they beat feet into the Keeper tunnels when they figured out we were coming." Bailey added. "Sorry Councilor, I'll say it plain. Shepard just saved the lot of you."

"Then you have saved my life twice now, Shepard." Sparatus turned towards the Commander. "I owe you both a personal debt and one on behalf of Palaven."

"You don't owe me anything, Councilor." Shepard shook his head, and Ashley felt like this was indeed a real Shepard. "In times like these, we're all staying together."

"Precisely." Zayan added.

"Commander, do you have any idea why The Illusive Man would do this?" Sparatus asked.

"No, I don't." Shepard replied, which left a troubled reaction on the Councilor's face. "But I plan to find out."

Sparatus nodded in understanding, before Bailey coughed.

"Alright people, the Principals are evacuating. We've got a tunnel and a million more places to secure. Move it!" He ordered, and everyone went through the door.

Ashley followed them behind in silence, but then was approached by the Carvin that accompanied Shepard.

"So you're... Ashley Williams." He said, clearly struggling with pronunciation. (A/N: Names are not translated by the translators :D). "I've heard a lot about you from Shepard and other people."

"Thanks... I guess." Ashley really didn't know how to react to this. "I hope they didn't overly colorize who I am."

"Oh, I've heard about what happened on the Horizon, but because I didn't really know you existed by the time that happened, I don't really care. And the opinions of the people who claimed to have met you are overwhelmingly positive." The Carvin replied. "I'm Virox by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Virox..." She awkwardly shook his cybernetic hand.

"Oh, and just so you know and don't get freaked out, I have PTSD, split personality, and my sanity is basically nonexistent." Virox warned her. "For your own safety."

"Okay..." Ashley felt even more awkward than before.

But she quickly realized that this all felt very familiar. Like three years ago, when the old crew was trying to stop Saren, and meeting all those different and weird aliens along the way. This wasn't really different.

It was at that moment that Ashley realized she wanted to return home.

 **A/N: So, there you have it. Citadel is safe, and as I mentioned before, the next chapter will focus heavily on the Carvin Empire itself. I'll try to sneak in some plot at the end, but don't expect anything big. 1,5 thousand words is a max for that optional part. Like I said before, I have loads of ideas, and it should in turn make the chapter come out quicker. Carry on!**

 **Bonker out!**


	13. SPECIAL: Carvin Empire overview

**A/N: As I said before, I had loads of ideas. So here it is, the special chapter I told you about. I'll mostly try to focus around social, economic, political, and administrative aspects, but there will also be bits of other stuff. Once again, I cannot stress that enough: I'm not an expert on the subject(s), just trying to portray how the Carvin Empire functions in a most believable way I can. Don't bully me. I'll correct any mistakes that can possibly occur.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **Shadowhorror: Ye, I know. She'll have some good time getting to know him.**

 **That being said,**

 **Enjoy!**

 **CARVIN EMPIRE: LOCATION AND SPAN**

Carvin Empire is the main political body that unifies, protects and represents the Carvins in intergalactic politics. It spans from the central-eastern parts of the Attican Traverse, to the northern of the star clusters of the Galactic Core, as well as roughly from the northern border of the Inner Council space, deep into the lawless Terminus Systems. The crucial systems that give a rough representation of the span of the Carvin Empire are:

Eastern border - Crescent Nebula.

Western border - Omega Nebula

Northern border - Hourglass Nebula

Southern border - Eagle Nebula

(A/N: I used 'compass-like' orientation to make it easier to interpret. Google the Mass Effect galaxy map with systems and you should be able to understand what I meant)

There have been some border disputes, particularly with the Asari, since their closeness to Crescent and Eagle Nebulae caught their neighbors off-guard. However they were quickly solved, given the diplomatic approach of the Asari. Another major conflict for spheres of influence began early after the first contact with the Carvins. The criminal empire of Aria T'Loak found itself fighting a disciplined and organized military, experience that they never had before. After a few skirmishes and counterattacks from Omega, Carvins agreed for a limited cooperation. Given their shortage of Element Zero, they established limited trade with Omega, and vowed to ignore pirate raids in the area, as long as they did not target Carvins themselves.

It should be noted however that Carvins understand the span of their territory by the areas that they have regular military presence in, not only that they directly administer (ex. colonies, mining facilities, etc). This means that their actual territory is a bit smaller. In addition, due to them not being reliant on the Mass Relay network, Carvins can have a more clustered span of control, meaning that the controlled systems are closer to eachother, allowing for a more effective trade, defense, and administration. Carvins, unhindered by any major conflicts since the Great Grox War finished in 203 BCE, could expand freely, rapidly claiming territory across the space in which they were virtually undetectable. They even possess a few installations in the Nemean Abyss, known to be the most outlawed region of the Galaxy. After the First Contact with the Carvins, various cases of ships vanishing in the region are attributed to them, although no measures have been taken to confirm it. Just before the Reaper War, Carvins have established multiple mining facilities in the eezo-rich Nemean Abyss in order to extract the Element Zero of which they had very little.

 **CARVIN HOMEWORLD: CARVISTORN**

The heart of the Carvin Empire, and partially, Carvin government is obviously Carvistorn. The most densely populated planet in the Empire, and one of the most populated in the Galaxy, Carvistorn heavily reflects Carvins themselves. Due to the expansionist attitude of the Carvins, Carvistorn's natural resources have been greatly depleted. More urban areas resulted in the reduction of wild territories, and as a result, the air pollution and other factors have started to take toll on the planet. To solve this problem, Carvins applied to the planet, what they applied to themselves before: machinery. Thousands of giant antimatter-fueled oxygenators and air filters have been built across the planet to maintain a healthy and stable atmosphere. The land contamination is constantly monitored and regulated to prevent from possible catastrophes.

But despite the lack of resources, Carvistorn still remains an important planet, for the economy, administration, and military. For starters, resources are shipped in hundreds of tonnes to the planet for production and manufacturing purposes. The shipyards of Carvistorn are only surpassed by the shipyards over the planet Mantar, although possess a greater civilian sector. Next is the trade. Being the heart of the Carvin Empire, Carvistorn obviously enjoys luxury of multiple trade routes going through its system. And with Mantar, being hugely focused on military, it is the Carvin homeworld that gets to control and regulate the trade.

Carvin Empire, being both large and dense, compared to some of the other races, requires an effective administration. While it has been substantially decentralized across the Empire, all colonies legal subordinates of Carvistorn, and the leadership of the homeworld possesses a substantial influence over other planets. They can implement, alter, or revoke reforms if they think it is harmful for the planet, region or the Empire itself. Although this power was rarely ever abused, and when it was, the abusers would never again return to administration.

Finally the military importance of Carvistorn. It is there that all the strategic data is processed. The greatest military HQ in the Empire is located in the capital, Travalaan, and the officers and military commanders can oversee, coordinate and manage Carvin forces all across the Empire. Furthermore, the military HQ on Carvistorn is constantly connected with all the smaller smaller 'regional' military HQ by Quantum Entanglement Communicators and can act as a transfer of information from one part of the Empire to another. However, an equally important factor to consider is Carvistorn's military industry. As stated before, the shipyards of Carvistorn are the second largest in the Empire, but the military industry doesn't end on that. Various big military contractors and corporations have their leadership and even factories located on the planet, whether it is on the surface or underground. And given Carvistorn's central location, it's easy and efficient to transport the produced equipment across the Empire.

 **CARVIN GOVERNMENT: RULE**

As has been stated in the story and previous SPECIAL chapters, the rulers of the Carvin Empire are called High Generals. They are powerful political and military leaders that are the highest authority in the Empire. The number of them is dependent on the size and span of the Empire, and at the moment there are 8 of them. Each and every High General supervises, controls, and administers roughly an equal territory in the Empire, or the Carvin homeworld Carvistorn.

Controlling the Carvin homeworld has its benefits, but also responsibilities. High General who controls Carvistorn can influence planets and systems in all of the regions controlled by other High Generals, effectively giving them the most power. However, if a certain action has a negative impact on a planet or a region controlled by another High General, political repercussions can be severe for such High General. This is why those High Generals who administer Carvistorn usually give a general direction for the Empire to head, while fighting corruption, and refining administration across the entirety of its span, rather than deeply intervene.

Every 20 Carvistorn years, High Generals rotate between their zones of control, allowing for influx of new ideas and diversification of thought. This also prevents any of the High Generals to effectively split from the Empire and establish their own political entity, as with 1000 year lifespan of the Carvins, preparations for secession and covering up the efforts are virtually impossible.

With the nature of High Generals, Carvin government could be classified as an oligarchy and a mix of meritocracy and stratocracy. Each and every High General has their own group of advisers on various subjects. Those minds are the brightest of the Empire, and it's ambition of many to reach that position. They are incredibly close to the High Generals themselves, but that also means that they are held up to close scrutiny. Mistakes of advisers are gravely punished, and if an adviser is corrupted and discovered, they will most likely face death sentence, regardless of their closeness with their High General.

 **CARVIN GOVERNMENT: ADMINISTRATION**

Carvin administration isn't very different from other races, following a pyramid-like pattern of going from the most basic communities to the administration of the entire Empire. However what is a key difference with most races is how much power do the people on various positions have. People on different levels of administrative division hold direct executive power over the lower levels. For example a governor of a planet can directly influence what is happening in individual towns across the planet. They can assign and revoke projects, pass local laws and edicts, promote, demote, and dismiss personnel as they see fit. This allows for effective bureaucracy, intervention in case of a crisis, or to fight corruption. And while it is open to abuse, there are many factors that discourage and even openly prevent people on the positions of leadership from abusing their power. Because of this, direct interventions like these are rare in the Empire, but not unheard of, especially in the cases of corruption.

Positions of leadership are usually filled by a democratic vote on a person on the basis of their skills and ability. If such a person needs additional officials to assist him, he can promote valid candidates to the necessary positions, or the matter can be resolved with a democratic vote. Officials can be elected on almost all leadership positions, ranging from a town mayor, to a star system governor. Each and every planet votes for a leader and his political party to govern and administer a specific level of administration. However in order to assist with planning on campaigns and promises, a lot of the data on the current state of various institutions are publicly available.

 **CARVIN GOVERNMENT: POLITICAL POLICE**

While it might sound concerning at first, possibly due to the difficulties with translation, Carvin political police is not what others might think it is. The purpose of the political police is to remove and protect the Empire from corruption by constant surveillance of the administrative processes, and restriction of rights or outright removal of the corrupted officials. This also concerns politicians.

If a political party on a certain planet is elected and does not fulfill its promises, the repercussions vary on the scale of a problem. In case of a small number of promises unfulfilled, the party may be disbanded, and their members sentenced to community work, as well as inability to join or form political parties for a certain amount of time. However if multiple of the promises haven't been fulfilled, the party members can be sent to penal labor camps on various colonies for even a few decades, as well as be stripped from the right to hold any administrative position and forming or joining a party ever again. This is why political parties are highly reserved when making their campaigns and promises, as mistakes and slips are hardly tolerated. This system also resulted in the rise of a veteran 'class' of politicians who have stood the test of time and know very well how Empire works, making them more trustworthy and reliable, therefore greatly increasing their chances of winning potential elections.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: COMPOSITION**

While Carvins almost completely lack genetic diversity observed in other species, there is one specific distinction between them. That being the Brutes. Brutes are Carvins who have been observed to possess increased body size, mass, and strength, at a small cost of intelligence. Now this doesn't mean that they are dumber, rather that their intellectual potential is lower than that of the normal Carvins. They are characterized by being more irritable, more prone to Rage, as well as the aforementioned decreased intellectual potential.

The genome of Brute variant of Carvin DNA is recessive, which means that there is a significantly lower number of Brutes in the Carvin society. It is estimated that they make up for 18% of the Carvin population. Their aggressiveness and enhanced physique makes military, security services, or jobs that require physical labor, the most frequent job choices.

There has been some minor discrimination of the Brutes in the past, as they were denied university education and kept as physical labor, but since the Great Grox War, everything has died down and Brutes now enjoy all the freedoms and responsibilities of an average Carvin.

Other than that, Carvin society, and Carvin Empire as a whole is incredibly homogeneous. This contributes to an extremely high level of unity and nationalism across the entire span of the Carvin Empire, and even on multi-species worlds.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: HIERARCHY**

Carvin society is greatly similar to that of the Turians, with a few notable changes. First major similarity to the Turian Hierarchy is THE hierarchy. Carvin society is hierarchical as well, and different tiers have different privileges and responsibilities linked to them, but there are various 'tier groups', that each contain from 4 to 10 tiers each. For example a 'worker tier group' contains all the people of the working class, whether that's in a factory, a farm, or a mine. With each and every tier, their minimum wage is increased, but so is their expected performance.

Members of higher management tiers can promote and demote members of the lower tiers based on their ability and performance. Meanwhile, the lower tier members can advocate for a promotion for one of their own if they think they deserve it. However with promotion comes a great risk. If an individual is promoted to higher tier and does not meet the expectations, not only they will suffer demotion, but also the individual who promoted them.

Family promotions are frowned upon, and they are held up into even closer scrutiny. Even a minor mistake can result in demotion of both the promoted and the promoter. That is why it is usually better to perform exceptionally and await a promotion. However higher-ranking individuals can suggest promotion of their family members to their superiors.

Members of other races have their own separate tier, which is adjusted to the average ability of all the known races. They can be promoted to the Carvin system after receiving citizenship. A default time needed to spent in the Empire to be granted citizenship is 10 years, but it can be granted as a reward for outstanding merit and contribution to the Empire. By the time the Reaper War started, only 673 alien migrants have been granted citizenship in that way.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: YOUTH AND ADULTHOOD**

Due to the incredibly quick maturing period, Carvins reach biological and sexual maturity at the age of 6. However they are legally considered adults at the age of 10, when their growth slows down and stops. After that they go through 2 years of survival and military training. Once completed, they can officially apply for a job, go to university, or join the military for active service.

Carvins before reaching adulthood do not belong to any tier in the hierarchy, however many youth organizations have a hierarchy that somewhat resembles the Imperial hierarchy and can give an idea of how it works. Only after completing the mandatory 2 years of training they move to the standard Carvin tier system.

Children of alien migrants belong to the same tier as their Carvin counterparts, which means they have similar expectations from them. Although many reforms have been implemented to make them more comfortable, but so far the majority of alien children in the Carvin Empire are Asari and Salarians.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: EDUCATION**

Carvins begin their education after their first birthday. They are expected to be able to speak and understand basic words and attend Carvin counterpart of primary school for 5 years. There they learn the language, mathematics, natural history, basics of sciences like chemistry and physics, history, physical education, and the 'geography' of the Carvin Empire. During that time they are also taught discipline and the concept of hierarchy. This is also where the process of shaping the young Carvins to be loyal to the Empire first and foremost begins. Laziness and unpreparedness is severely punished, and the teachers encourage the competitiveness among the students, preferably in groups, in order to teach them the strength of cooperation. However, an individual student doesn't need to be good at everything. If they are exceptional in at least one subject, they can get by pretty easily. Teachers might turn a blind eye on underwhelming performance of a student in one subject if they know the student excels in other subjects.

From the age of 6 students either move to the Carvin equivalent of high school or vocational school.

The first year of education in the former resembles primary school with more material and tests. But after that the students are expected to specialize and choose a few subjects that they find the most appealing to them. However there is one mandatory subject: mathematics, and no matter how well justified against it, all students are required to study maths and finish the school with an acceptable grade. After finishing Carvin high school, one can either continue studying on a university, or try and apply for a job, however it is rare to accept graduates from high school to most of the jobs.

The second option is the vocational school. While it prevents an individual from going to university, graduating from a specific vocational school can almost guarantee a job on a position dependent on the school. In fact companies or Imperial administration can cooperate with a certain school and constantly monitor the students' progress in these schools, and can grant job offers to them. Going to a vocational school does not completely prevent one from studying at the university, but a graduate from such school needs to have worked for 5 years before being able to do so.

After finishing either of the schools, Carvins attend have a mandatory military service of 2 years. The first year is general survival training, weapon usage and maintenance, knowledge of military protocols, creating homemade explosives etc. The second year is more reminiscent of active service, although the conscripted soldiers are separated from the professional forces. They patrol outer rim of the Empire, and if lucky, get to perform a raid on pirate hideouts, which are common in the Terminus Systems. After these two years Carvins are legally considered adults and can either start working or go to the university, depending on their previous education choice.

In order to establish closer relationships with other races, the best students from the most prestigious schools and universities were granted a privilege of going to an exchange into other schools and vice versa. However, these exchanges are closely monitored by both sides, particularly when Salarian students are involved. Nevertheless all parties involved have been pleased to cooperate, although the non-Carvin students have found the harsh discipline in Carvin schools to be extremely difficult to follow. Therefore Carvin tutors have made temporary exemptions to accommodate the alien students.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: FAMILY AND SEXUALITY**

Contrary to other species, Carvins never had a problem with sexism, and rarely any difficulty with discrimination at all. This is partially due to the unique biology of the Carvins, in the sense that Carvin females are almost completely identical to the males, with the exception of reproductive organs. Any physical job can be done by either a man or a woman, and the intellectual potential of both genders can be considered equal, with both sexes having some advantages and disadvantages in different fields that even eachother out. Wages are public and workers of different sex on the same position, ON THE SAME TIER IN THE HIERARCHY, have the same minimum wages, and any disproportions in wages have to be justified by difference in efficiency and output.

When trying to find a mate, Carvins release pheromones that make everyone aware of the fact. But the pheromones also possess an encoded information about the individual, mainly his personality. Of course the data is greatly simplified, but the method was proven to have a very high effectiveness. If two Carvins that look for a mate have their pheromones matched, their bodies generate positive feedback and this usually leads to an engagement. Carvins also practice their own form of marriage, although it is completely secular and its best comparison is civil marriage practiced by the Humans.

Because of their unique biology, Carvins don't engage in any form of sexual intercourse. The process of procreation serves only to produce an offspring, and there is no pleasure involved unlike other races. Salarians are the closest species for comparison in that regard.

Children are usually conceived during the times of prosperity for the family, because if unable to provide the necessary care and services for the child, the authorities can revoke the family's right to raise the child. Standard family model is 22, i.e. two parents and two children. This is because Carvin government provides basic tax relief for the families that have at least two kids. Further incentives are available for families with even more children.

Due to the inherent and cultural emphasis on order and discipline, Carvin families maintain both in their own circle. Parents usually have a certain set of rules that set certain boundaries. Everything within these boundaries can be done freely, unless certain things turn out to be harmful. The number and strictness of the rules themselves decreases as Carvins grow older, and after two years of boot camp, being considered adult, none of them apply.

Carvins do not have an established custom of which one of the parents should take care and prioritize raising the kids. However boys have been observed to spend more time with their fathers, and the daughters with their mothers. Now this doesn't mean that only one parent raises the child of their own sex. The responsibility is usually divided between the two. Either one parent can prioritize staying at home and raising the children (usually the one that earns less), or they can divide responsibility equally.

 **CARVIN SOCIETY: LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SECURITY**

Just like with other aspects of the Carvin life, order and discipline is crucial when it comes to law enforcement. Carvins have a set of laws that, if broken, can have serious repercussions, sometimes even viewed as unfair by other species. That's because Carvins employ a Strategy of Deterrence. Individuals will be discouraged from committing a crime if the consequences will be so severe. Combined with the incredibly strong sense of duty, discipline, and loyalty, Carvin Empire officially has the lowest crime rate in the Milky Way.

Apart from the previously mentioned 'Political Police', Carvins also employ regular police and security forces, although they are both just special divisions of the military itself. The candidates must go through a standard military training, along with additional specialized training, like special riot control, pacification of unstable zones, and peacekeeping-oriented lectures. Carvin police usually is less brutal and more approachable than Carvin military, but it all changes when the criminals resist arrest. While they will try to subdue such criminal at the beginning, it's not guaranteed that the wrongdoer will come out in one piece or even alive. They are more similar to a military police in the armies of other races, rather than civilian police.

In order to make the maintenance of prisons and prisoners as low as possible, Carvins shifted away from a traditional concept of a prison. Instead they set up labor camps across their space, preferably on uninhabitable planets or asteroids, and force their prisoners to work in the mines, build infrastructure for a proper mining facility, or, if a labor camp is on a habitable world, either set up groundwork for colonization process, or expand the colony's infrastructure.

Conditions in labor camps are harsh, and every prisoner must complete a certain minimal quota of work every day. If the quota is not met, the guards reduce daily meal portions of such prisoner. But the mortality rate in the camps is kept incredibly low. Guards have special equipment designed to subdue, not kill the unruly prisoners. Every attempt to escape, resist, or fight results in corporal punishment, and in some cases extension of the sentence. All this is to ensure the maximum output from the labor camps.

Capital punishment is legal in the Carvin Empire. It is mostly reserved for all the types of treason (collaboration with the enemy, information leak, sabotage, desertion, etc.), or if an individual is too dangerous or too costly to keep in labor camps. Executions are almost always made public and transmitted across the Empire as an example to everyone.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: OVERVIEW**

Carvin culture is greatly based on their nature and the high emphasis on order and discipline, and has been compared many times to that of the Turians. The loyalty to the Empire, taught and imposed from the earliest stages of the Carvin lives, makes the Carvins very selfless and efficient in almost anything they do. Carvins, like Turians, rarely step out of the line and put their needs ahead of the group. They follow the principle: the group's interests are the interests of every single individual. Because of the strong sense of duty, Carvins can sacrifice many, and sometimes even all of their comfort for long periods of time to ensure the prosperity of the group.

Individualism is not discouraged, but it isn't encouraged either. Rather it's mostly accepted, if it doesn't interfere with the performance of specific people. That's in opposition to the aforementioned group mentality and cooperation that are the very base of Carvin mentality. However, since the first contact, Carvin Empire has been on the lookout for individuals that show initiative and individualism, as competition with other races, particularly in the economic field has proven quite difficult without them.

Another crucial part of Carvin culture is the cult of progress. Due to their genetic stagnation and resistance to alterations, Carvins concluded that if they cannot physically adapt to new challenges, they should instead opt for a constant evolution of mind. They strive to advance and push forward beyond the old boundaries as fast as possible, and this mindset has only been reinforced after joining the galactic community. Thanks to a hierarchical and disciplined nature of their society, they implement changes swiftly and efficiently, not limited by overly restrictive bureaucracy. And because Carvin lifespan rivals that of Asari and Krogan at 1000 years, individuals in the final stages of their life are considered to be close to Asari in terms of intellectual potential, and even surpassing them in terms of sheer analytic potential.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: FIERCE LOYALTY**

Because of the fierce loyalty and nationalism Carvins are known for, it has been observed multiple times by their enemies and the Carvins themselves, that they will virtually never surrender if threatened. The great example of this was the Great Grox War, when even after the annihilation of the Carvin government, almost entire population aided the resistance in one way or another. Skirmishes with security forces, sabotage, general discontent, all these factors contribute to Carvin worlds being incredibly difficult to pacify. However this is also a double-edged sword. There have been rare instances of individual planets seceding from the Empire. Over 90% of the planet's population, military forces included, could align with the separatists, which often forced the Empire to storm the planet, capture it and pacify it manually. Blockades, propaganda, even concessions to the rebellious population have all proven to only agitate them. Because treason is considered the worst crime by the Carvins, and each side sees the other as traitors, neither side would truly concede defeat. Imperial forces, in case of such secession, usually just storm the planet, trying to achieve quick series of victories in order to avoid the combat being dragged for long. Next they try to imprison and often outright execute the separatist leaders, then quickly impose a harsh occupation policy to discourage resistance and reduce any potential damage. The most fanatical separatists are often just shot. Less radical individuals are either sent to labor camps or to special resocialization therapy that often includes electroshock treatment. Last phase involves repopulating the colony with loyalists from other planets in order for the group mentality to do the rest of the job and gradually reduce the unrest.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: SYSTEM OF APPROACHES/STANCES**

Carvins have developed a few simple stances towards people, groups of people, or even organizations/species. While it might seem confusing to other races at first, once one understands the behavior associated with a certain approach and how Carvins behave in general, it's pretty easy to recognize each stance. Some of these approaches and stances have been artificially implemented or altered by the government for various purposes, using careful subconscious suggestions. They are mostly set in stone, although can oscillate between various approaches, but if forced to say, a Carvin will most likely reply with one of the following. There are 7 main approaches observed so far:

Neutral - Pretty self-explanatory. It's usually between the people who have never met, or have a strictly professional relationship. Carvins taking such stance towards someone will not voice all of their opinions openly, talk a lot less, but won't show hostility. They will usually not care about most things associated with the person or group they hold this approach to.

Cooperative - This approach is the second most common one observed in the Carvin society. It's often observed between colleagues, or towards groups that share mutual views and goals. A lot more open than neutral approach, characterized by substantial increase in talking, appearance of minor jokes, and generally more positive approach. Cooperative Carvins will be more eager to help just from pure altruism, although will rarely put themselves in danger for someone else's gain. As for species, cooperative approach could've been observed towards the Humans before the Reaper War. Carvin Empire maintained the best diplomatic relations with the Alliance, and even though they didn't consider them allies, the general opinion towards the Humans was usually positive across the Empire. The same can be observed in the Carvin economy, where various companies can cooperate to achieve more success. Such cooperation can be temporary or permanent, although the latter is rarely observed.

Friendly/Allied - Like the name suggests, a stance towards friends. The distance that Carvins have been known to show towards others almost completely vanishes once such approach is taken. Although still partially retaining their coldness, they are a lot more willing to help and aid their friends, even if it means putting themselves or for example their money at risk. When it comes to group approach, it can usually be observed between various military units, a group of colonies or mining installations, and more rarely companies. As of before the Reaper War Carvins did not have official alliances with any race, even though the constantly improving relations with the Hanar and the Elcor might've suggested otherwise. But with the arrival of the Reapers, Carvin Empire is officially a part of the grand military summit in addition to Humans, Turians, and Krogan, therefore they employ the Allied approach.

Family - This is the most positive stance that can be taken towards an individual and in rare instances, a group. It primarily exists between members of the actual biological family, but can also manifest itself between members of a military unit, or a small group like a town or a village. However in case of war, even without the stimulation from the Imperial government, each and every Carvin is a member of one giant family that is their Empire. This approach is characterized by incredible loyalty, even till death, and care for another 'family' member. It's rare for such bond to break, but when it's broken, it's never restored again.

Dislike - This is the least drastic of the negative approaches. Carvins will not shy away from disrespect, and will almost never help or cooperate with the individual or group they dislike. Only if forced by circumstances that can change, although often temporarily. As of the time before the Reaper War, Carvins employed this approach towards the Batarians and the Salarians.

Rival - The only one of all the approaches that has been created artificially from the basics. Given the selfless nature of the Carvins, even the pre-imperial governments of the separate Carvin states have noticed that systems like capitalism, and generally a bit of competition can bring much more good than bad. This is why they designed the entire rivalry system based on this one approach. A rival is someone that needs to be beaten, but not necessarily in a physical way. Often it's enough to eclipse them with performance or something similar. A rival doesn't necessarily mean an enemy, and more often than not, outside the rivalry, both rivals greatly respect eachother. Rivalries are created and even encouraged between the Carvins, for example in the workplaces in order for the workers to perform better, usually by increasing output, and potentially get promoted. Carvin teachers also try to implement the rivalry system in high schools and universities for the students to excel even more. But the most common appearance of the rivalries is between certain businesses and companies. Local governments and sometimes even High Generals themselves create competitions between businesses, offering incentives, resources, or temporary tax relief as rewards. The system of rivalries has only been growing, further encouraged by the Carvin government after the first contact. Carvin Empire itself also has implemented the rival system in the galactic politics. Before the Reaper War the two main rivals of the Carvin Empire was Turian Hierarchy and Asari Republics.

Enemy - Most commonly observed during wartime and rarely appears between individuals. Carvins that consider someone or a specific group an enemy will not hesitate to fight on first sight. The enemy approach between individuals is temporary over 90% of the time, and if a fight ensues, usually the authorities get involved and separate the two. Another thing is in case of an actual war. The approach gets more drastic as the war drags on, and especially if the Carvins are the ones loosing. Reaper War proved the absolute, almost fanatical will of fight against the Reapers, even in the face of defeat, with odds stacked greatly against the Carvins, and the ferocity that they displayed often scared their own allies.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: RELIGION**

Carvins do not have an established religious doctrine, and even before the unification, they only displayed local animism. Their society is almost completely secular, with small exceptions of other races' religions being adopted by local communities. The most common 'belief' in the Carvin Empire, as it cannot by any means be called a religion, is the belief in what roughly translates into 'the Creator'. To the Carvins, everything is in constant motion. Life and existence is a flow. And so there had to be someone who started the motion in the first place. The Creator is a formless, genderless entity that is neither good or bad. It can be asked for grace, although Carvins rarely pray for specific things, and prefer to pray for general prosperity. There is no established doctrine or rules of this belief, and the name 'Creator' is often used like 'God' in Human language (ex. My God/By the Creator).

One noteworthy religious organization has appeared among the Carvins during the Great Grox War. As the Grox were pacifying the planet, a group of Carvins started to spread beliefs that the Grox were their masters and that Carvins were destined to serve them as this would grant them salvation. The group was quickly labeled a cult by the populace, although it didn't stop them from 'forcefully converting' the non-believers. However the cult was quickly eradicated by the resistance, despite the Grox supplying the cultists with weapons and equipment of the highest quality. The Grox cult is still banned as a religion in the Carvin Empire to this day.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: HOLIDAYS**

Carvins don't celebrate many holidays, as the cult of progress and work encourages them to work as much as possible. Nevertheless there are two main holidays celebrated across the Empire.

Unification Day - Celebrated in the early spring of Carvin homeworld Carvistorn, the Unification Day marks the beginning of a New Year, and celebrates the Treaty of the Twin Suns. The name is a reference to the two nuclear bombs that the two main Carvin factions dropped on each other's capitals. By the agreement of the treaty, all Carvin splinter factions and states would be unified into a single political and economic entity, and the city of Travalaan would become the capital of the newly formed Carvin Empire. It is a day off for everyone and it's usually celebrated with feasts and parties. Old conflicts are often resolved on that day, and agitation for conflict is the greatest offense that one can commit at that time.

Victory Day - A holiday that celebrates the triumph of the Carvins over the Grox during the Great Grox War. Celebrated during Carvistorn's winter, Victory Day is mostly celebrated in a military manner, with parades and shows of the latest technology and equipment, at times accompanied by military exercises broadcasted live across the Empire for the citizens to see.

 **CARVIN CULTURE: ART, EXPRESSION, AND ARCHITECTURE**

Due to their group mentality, Carvins have limited inclination towards art. Artistic personalities are not eliminated in any way, but there are very few programs that aim to aid the artists, both young and old. This is contrary to the architecture. While not very fancy, it has a clear and distinct form that makes it recognizable across the galaxy. The most recognizable aspect of the Carvin architecture is its utilitarianism. Carvins do not bother with flashy stuff unless it serves a specific purpose. For them such expenses are a waste of money, resources and time. Second aspect of Carvin architecture that makes it stand out from the other styles is the focus on triangles. The second most common shape observed in Carvin architecture, right after rectangle, are triangles. Specifically the equilateral triangles. The highest and most important buildings in the Empire have a triangular shape. This style came from the shape of Carvin outer jaws, which are arranged into an upside down triangle.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: OVERVIEW**

Because of their primal mentality and the culture of discipline, order, and loyalty, Carvins as a whole aren't the greatest material for entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, individuals who display economic skills among their fellow citizens are supported in many ways to harness and increase their potential. The previously mentioned rivalry system is one of the bases of Carvin capitalism. Of course the great control that the government has over the economy substantially reduces the threat of an economic crisis, but at a price of the speed of the economic development.

Carvin economic system can be labeled as a mixed economy. They try to balance between planned economy and free market, though the latter has started to take the lead. Their social welfare is limited, and it's highly dependent on the overall performance of an individual. This encourages the citizens to work more and work better, because as a reward they will get better social welfare.

Unemployment is actively combated across the entire Empire. If an individual cannot find a job themselves, the authorities will absorb such individual into one of the nationalized businesses. The most often choice are the construction companies or sanitary workers. Such citizens go into what Carvins call a 'workers pool'. Any private company can offer to hire an individual that has been forcefully absorbed into the economy at any time. Carvin citizens cannot go more than a few months without a job, otherwise they will face this fate. This has a strong impact on the artistic personalities, such as writers or artists of any other kind. They are allowed to work on their art, but unless a certain minimal income has been achieved, or they were offered sponsorship, they are obligated to work as any other citizen.

After the first contact, Carvins have surprised the galaxy with exotic technology, almost completely different than that of the Council races. Their military tech and Faster Than Light drives were in particularly high demand, although in order to prevent the leaks of technology, Carvin Empire imposed strict regulations on the technological exchange with other races. Nevertheless they continue to have strong influence on the galactic economy, having virtual monopoly on their exotic tech, particularly in the military sector with a strong emphasis on laser technology and energy shields. However because of the deficiency of business personalities, Carvins have been hiring advisers from other species, particularly from the Asari, the ever expansionist Humans, and in rare instances Volus. Those last ones however tended to be private entrepreneurs, not associated with the Vol Protectorate, as given the client race status of the Volus, such moves would be quickly blocked by the Turian Hierarchy. Due to the extensive reach of the Carvin Empire, as well as a highly developed industrial sector, Carvin Empire ranks slightly above the Elcor in economics, although developing surprisingly fast before the Reaper War, and slowly catching up to the Salarians.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: PRIMARY SECTOR**

Carvins possess an extensive network of agricultural colonies and mining facilities across their Empire. Given their independence from the Mass Relay network, a lot more territory is accessible to them, which in turn results in more available resources. It is estimated that the Carvins outmatch the Asari in excavation operations output and income by over 300%.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: SECONDARY SECTOR**

While not fully accessible to the rest of the galaxy, Carvins have a formidable manufacturing system. Their products are of high quality, sometimes rivaling those of Salarians in performance, and outclassing them in reliability. Despite the limits on trade with the other species imposed by the Carvin government, Carvins still have a reputation of selling high quality and reliable products, especially when it comes to weapons and electronics.

In addition to that, while mostly internal, Carvin shipbuilding is formidable. With the limited allowance from the Empire to produce eezo-based ships for export, Carvin producers still managed to create a few formidable designs. They excel in manufacturing freighters, transport ships, and civilian vessels. Their construction has been labeled as sturdy and highly functional starships, with many useful utilities.

A great portion of the Carvin manufacturing income comes from military manufacturing. Given the militarized nature of the Empire, and its recent expansion of armed forces, Carvin contractors have been gaining and expanding significantly for a long time. Weapons and munitions manufacturing take the lead when it comes to military-oriented corporations, but they are followed closely behind by shipbuilding companies such as Mantar Drive Yards that produce the bulk of Carvin heavy vessels.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: TERTIARY** **SECTOR**

Severely underdeveloped, partially due to the cultural influence, and the lack of demand for certain services, Carvin tertiary sector has seen the most expansion in the recent years, though this doesn't necessarily mean improvement. The economical practices of the Carvins are outdated by the galactic standards, though with the recently hired alien advisers, they started to become more refined across the entire Empire.

One specific weakness of the Carvin tertiary sector, which is closely linked to their biology, is the surprisingly small medical and pharmaceutical industry. Because of their natural fitness, resistance to toxins and poisons, extreme regeneration, and use of cybernetics, Carvins don't really need gigantic medical corporations, so often observed in other species. Their public and private medical services mostly focus on serious injuries and cybernetic maintenance, a severe downgrade compared to for example Humans.

The only real service that has been actively developed and polished was construction. Carvin construction companies, given the funds and resources, can build anything anywhere. Need a tunnel through an asteroid? They can do it. Want an underground settlement on a hostile planet? Sure, if you have the money. Their constantly maintained and improved infrastructure is one of the few things that they can outclass other species in in the tertiary sector.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: QUATERNARY SECTOR**

If the tertiary sector is lagging behind in comparison to the other species, Carvin quaternary sector makes up for it, at least to some extent. Fueled by the Carvin cult of progress, as well as the rivalry system employed towards other species, Carvins rival Salarians in their pursuit for advancement and new technology. They also follow the philosophy of what they call 'Super Science'. Its basic concept rejects most of the ethical concerns of the advancement, and only realistic dangers can actually stop them from continuing a certain research. Carvins don't bother with small, step-by-step discoveries. Instead they opt for technology that will shape the world around them.

Many Carvins are actually volunteering as live test subjects in experiments that would be deemed questionable in their nature by other species. Those that are accepted receive monetary and medical insurance in an instance of death or severe injury. In the event of the former, the test subject's family would receive monetary compensation.

 **CARVIN ECONOMY: WAR ECONOMY**

While severely lacking in the civilian department, Carvin economy truly shines during mobilization or wartime. Special temporary laws and edicts are passed in order to smooth things up. In fact, despite some early losses in the Reaper War, Carvin economy seemed to have been growing. It's unclear for how long this trend will continue, but it is speculated that after the war, it will be the Carvins who will recover first, or at least one of the first.

 **END OF THE DESCRIPTION OF CARVIN EMPIRE**

 **A/N: So there you have it. A complete overview of the Carvin Empire, the most detailed I could produce. I hope you liked it, because it's probably the last of the SPECIAL chapters. And now a little sneak peak into something that may just manifest itself in the future chapters ;).**

 **Lexaant system, Carvistorn, an underground research facility**

"You're behind schedule, Seviros. I really do hope that your little 'project' was worth all of these resources you've pumped into it before the war." Kraytt said, as his hologram followed Seviros through a dark hallway of the facility. The walls were made of tanks, filled with a dense blue liquid, which obstructed the view of what was inside.

"Based on our pre-war predictions about the Reaper arrival, I'd still have a lot more time." Seviros replied, unfazed by Kraytt's jabbering. "No one knew they'd come so quickly. But right now it's done."

"How much do you think these... FLAX soldiers will influence the outcome of the battles?" Tivennia asked.

"They will be superior to any soldier at our disposal. After all, I've managed to imprint them with the memories and attributes of our best." was Seviros' reply, and he stopped in front of a single tank that was placed in a huge room, most likely for a presentation. "And although they will have little chance against the Reapers themselves, the husks will stand no chance."

Just as he said that, red lights ignited on the ceiling. All personnel of the base started to run to their posts and a mechanical voice spoke through the speakers.

"Attention. Commencing the trial of subject OL-0967. All inactive personnel return to your stations. The subject will be released shortly."

As the voice faded away, the liquids inside the tank with the subject started to be pumped out. Soon, after a few seconds, they revealed the tank's content

A Carvin, at least a foot taller than any of the largest Brutes, with cybernetics already installed.

The first FLAX soldier to be woken up.


	14. Not Dead

I'lL bE bAcK


End file.
